TORONTO, June 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Concerned Shareholders of Biovail Corporation (TSX: BVF) said today that a refusal by Biovail CEO William Wells to participate in a debate with Bruce Brydon, Concerned Shareholders' proposed CEO, sends a chilling message to Biovail shareholders.
"To make an informed vote, shareholders need a chance to evaluate each side," said a spokesman for The Concerned Shareholders. "Mr. Wells has limited experience in the pharmaceutical industry, and we believe his refusal to participate in a debate demonstrates is he is afraid to show -- one-on-one -- his lack of knowledge."
Mr. Wells's refusal to debate comes on the heels of an analysis by Glass Lewis & Co. that sharply criticizes the company and recommends a no-vote for all the company's nominees. The report also calls the appointment of Mr. Wells as CEO "inappropriate from a corporate governance standpoint" and suggests that there was an appearance of a conflict of interest in awarding lavish compensation packages to Mr. Wells and his predecessor at a time when the company is struggling financially.
"We believe Mr. Wells has limited knowledge of the industry and inadequate experience to run the company," the spokesman said. "But shareholders deserve to see his level of knowledge first hand -- face to face with Bruce Brydon, who has 30 years experience."
The Concerned Shareholders ask the incumbent Biovail Board and Mr. Wells to reconsider their stance and agree to the debate with Mr. Brydon.
"If they do not, we urge shareholders to take note of what this says," said the spokesman. "Do they want a Board and management team that is afraid to show shareholders what they know and what they don't know? Or do they want a Board and a leader who wants an open debate?"
All shareholders are urged to vote the YELLOW proxy in favour of the Concerned Shareholders slate of nominees. Copies of the proxy circular prepared by the Concerned Shareholders can be obtained via SEDAR (http://www.sedar.com/) and http://www.betterbiovail.com/ or by contacting in Canada, Kingsdale Shareholder Services Inc. toll-free at 1-800-775-1986 or collect at 1-416-867-2272, or in the United States, Innisfree M&A Incorporated toll-free at 1-877-717-3929.
Certain statements contained in this release constitute forward-looking statements. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions as they relate to the Concerned Shareholders, the Concerned Shareholders' nominees, the Company or its current or future management, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the Concerned Shareholders' or the Concerned Shareholders' nominees' current views with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The Concerned Shareholders' nominees assume no responsibility for any such statements. Many factors could cause the company's actual results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward- looking statements to vary from those described herein should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize. Such factors include, but are not limited to, economic, business, technological, competitive and regulatory factors.
