Lining up the Proxy Votes

Actelion Ltd. (SIX:ATLN) gained more backers in its bid to fend off Elliott Advisorsahead of the biotech's May 5 AGM. BB Biotech AG(Xetra:BBZA; SIX:BION) last week said it was throwing its near 5% stake behind the current board and management. Two proxy advisory firms and a Swiss shareholder foundation also came out in support of Actelion, while a fourth proxy firm had a mixed message.

Rudolf Maag, another Actelion investor, had already come out in support of the current board. Together with the holdings of co-founder and CEO Jean-Paul Clozel and his wife, co-founder and CSO Martine Clozel, the shareholders have a combined voting stake of almost 15%...