Abcam founder Jonathan Milner has suspended his campaign against the British biotechnology supplier’s planned sale to life sciences group Danaher, citing ‘‘strong support’’ for the $5.7-billion buyout.
‘‘Since the start of my campaign, Abcam’s share price increased significantly and, despite the final outcome, I sincerely believe that our campaign has shown that it is possible to stand up to, and call out, an ineffective board and management who displayed disregard for the interests of shareholders,’’ said Milner in a Wednesday statement.
The activist shelved a proxy contest to revamp Abcam’s board in late June after the company announced a strategic review — a ceasefire welcomed by activist fund Starboard Value. However, Abcam’s move to sell itself to Danaher for $24 per share in August led Milner to resume his push for operational, strategic and governance changes.
Milner, a more than 6% shareholder, reiterated his belief that Abcam’s leadership should have acted on his criticism and worked to improve performance instead of ‘‘simply’’ putting the company up for sale and accepting ‘‘a subpar offer, at the expense of loyal and long-term shareholders.’’
Despite his opposing arguments, proxy voting advisors Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis recommended Abcam investors approve the Danaher transaction at the November 6 meeting.
‘‘It has become clear that a significant majority intend to support Danaher’s acquisition of Abcam and I respect this decision and will not stand in the way of the deal,’’ Milner said Wednesday.
Abcam shares were trading below $17.50 each when Milner first said he wanted to overhaul the company’s leadership to end what he called a ‘‘sustained’’ period of ‘‘value destruction.’’
They were trading at $23.08 at 12:22 p.m. EDT on Wednesday.