UK group SkyePharma says it has come to an agreement with two of its major investors for the selection and appointment of two new independent non-executive directors.
The decision was made at the group’s Extraordinary General Meeting held on 9 March, which also saw a bid by disgruntled shareholders to supplant non-executive chairman Dr Jerry Karabelas fail.
Commenting on the reasoning behind the planned appointments, Karabelas remarked: “Although SkyePharma strives to maintain the highest standards of corporate governance, there is always room for improvement. We have noted the level of dissatisfaction about certain issues among a significant body of shareholders. We are happy to have reached agreement over a process that allows us to address these concerns to the satisfaction of all. We can now concentrate on the primary task of execution of the Company’s new corporate strategy, which we believe will benefit all shareholders.”
William Claxton-Smith, Director of Investor Responsibility at Insight Investment Management, added: “In light of this development, we are happy that our initial aim of strengthening the Board of SkyePharma will be achieved. We will be fully supportive of the Company.”
