Patience pays off

Nearly six years after shareholders rebuffed an activist investor’s proposal to sell Actelion Ltd. (SIX:ATLN), CEO Jean-Paul Clozel has made good on his promise that the biotech could build more value if investors waited for the pipeline to mature.

Investors who stuck with the company will reap a significantly better return through the acquisition of the Swiss bellwether by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) for $280 per share in cash, or $30 billion, than they could have gained by selling in 2011 and re-investing the proceeds in similarly valued biotechs. ...