Carl Icahn is the activist investor that has said that Bristol-Myers (NYSE:BMY) is a buyout target. However, JANA Partners was there before him, getting a revamped board of directors and a accelerated buyback plan. However, even with all, BMY has been stuck in no man's land. The fallout from the fact that its key immunotherapy drug might not live up to expectations has outweighed any potential value the activist investors might unlock.
Now, we don't know the exact size of Icahn's stake, nor JANA's - as it's said that JANA has markedly upped its stake since fourth quarter 13Fs (the form where hedge funds reveal their quarterly holdings were released). Nonetheless, we have seen BMY add board members at JANA's behest and implement a $2 billion buyback. BMY added former Bausch & Lomb CFO, former Vertex Pharmaceuticals CEO, and former executive of one of BMY's largest shareholders, Capital Group.
