Facing long odds, shareholder Richard Macary managed to oust the leaders of AVI BioPharma, a struggling biotech firm in Portland, Ore., and replace them with a new slate. Macary's crusade began in 2005 after the New York City investment adviser told wealthy clients, friends and relatives to buy shares of tiny AVI (market cap: $94 million). The company has spent 18 years and $241 million of investor money trying to commercialize "antisense" molecules, bits of RNA that prevent cancer cells, viruses and bacteria from expressing certain genes. The technology holds promise, says Macary, but was set back after a long-delayed hepatitis C trial showed no health benefits. As the stock lurched from $2 to $8 back to $2, Macary stepped in.
Is there a whiff of shareholder mutiny in the air? The Rockefellers tried and failed to unseat ExxonMobil (nyse: XOM - news - people )'s Rex Tillerson. Carl Icahn hasn't yet cleaned out Yahoo (nasdaq: YHOO - news - people )'s executive suite. Pulling off a putsch is expensive and risks countersuits. "A challenger has to bear the costs," says Harvard Law professor Lucian A. Bebchuk, "but would be able to capture only a limited fraction of the benefits produced for shareholders." One small triumph doesn't make a trend.
See full Article.
Posts
