Perrigo Reaches Deal With Starboard To Add Five Independent Directors To Its Board

Pharmaceutical company Perrigo Co. Plc said Tuesday it has reached agreement with activist investor Starboard LP to add five new independent directors to its board. Starboard owns about 6.7% of Dublin-based Perrigo's shares. Under the terms of the deal, Jeffrey Smith, Starboard's CEO and Chief Investment Officer, Bradley Alford and Jeffrey Kindler have been appointed to the Perrigo Board, effective immediately. The investor will recommend two additional independent directors at a later date. Current directors, Herman Morris, Shlomo Yanai, Michael Jandernoa, and Gary Kunkle will step down from the Board effective immediately.The board will have 10 members until the appointment of another director. At that point, Ellen Hoffing will step down to make way for a final Starboard candidate. Perrigo shares rose 1.7% premarket but are down 47% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 22%.