Investor Starboard takes several seats on Perrigo board

Activist investor Starboard Value has grabbed several seats on the board of Perrigo, months after saying it would push the drugmaker to its improve operations.

Perrigo Co. Plc. said Tuesday that Starboard CEO and Chief Investment Officer Jeffrey Smith will join its board, along with Centrexion Corp. CEO Jeff Kindler and Bradley Alford, an Advent International Corp. operating partner. Starboard also will recommend two more independent directors, and Perrigo said several of its current board members are stepping down immediately.

Starboard owns a roughly 6.7 percent stake in Perrigo, based in Dublin. It said back in September that the drugmaker's performance had been poor, and it needs to make changes to create shareholder value.

Shares of Perrigo climbed nearly 2 percent to $79.44 before markets opened Tuesday.