REVISED PRELIMINARY CONSENT STATEMENT SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED
APRIL 18, 2011
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A
Consent Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Filed by the Registrant
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Preliminary Consent Statement
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Soliciting Material Pursuant to Section 240.14a-12
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CEPHALON, INC.
(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
VALEANT PHARMACEUTICALS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
J. MICHAEL PEARSON
LAURIE W. LITTLE
SANTO J. COSTA
ABE M. FRIEDMAN
RICHARD H. KOPPES
LAWRENCE N. KUGELMAN
ANDERS LÖNNER
JOHN H. MCARTHUR
THOMAS G. PLASKETT
BLAIR H. SHEPPARD
(Name of Person(s) Filing Consent Statement, if other than the Registrant)
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CEPHALON,
INC.
CONSENT
STATEMENT
OF
VALEANT
PHARMACEUTICALS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
This Consent Statement and the enclosed GOLD consent card are
being furnished by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc.,
a Canadian corporation (Valeant or we),
in connection with our solicitation of written consents from
you, the holders of shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per
share (the Common Stock), of Cephalon, Inc., a
Delaware corporation (the Company). Stockholder
action by written consent is a process that allows a
companys stockholders to act by submitting written
consents to any proposed stockholder actions in lieu of voting
in person or by proxy at an annual or special meeting of
stockholders. We are soliciting written consents from the
holders of shares of Common Stock to take the following actions
(each, as more fully described in this Consent Statement, a
Proposal and together, the Proposals),
in the following order, without a stockholders meeting, as
authorized by Delaware law:
1. That any changes to the amended and restated bylaws
of the Company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
on March 16, 2011, be repealed (the Bylaw Restoration
Proposal);
2. That each member of the board of directors of the
Company (such board, as constituted from time to time, the
Company Board) as of the time this Proposal becomes
effective, and each person, if any, nominated, appointed or
elected by the Company Board prior to the effectiveness of this
Proposal to become a member of the Company Board at any future
time or upon any event, be removed (the Removal
Proposal); and
3. To elect each of the following eight
(8) individuals (each, a Nominee and
collectively, the Nominees) to serve as a director
of the Company: Santo J. Costa, Abe M. Friedman, Richard H.
Koppes, Lawrence N. Kugelman, Anders Lönner, John H.
McArthur, Thomas G. Plaskett and Blair H. Sheppard (the
Election Proposal).
This Consent Statement and the enclosed GOLD consent card are
first being sent or given to the stockholders of the Company on
or about April [ ], 2011.
On March 29, 2011, Valeant publicly announced that it had
made an all-cash offer to the Company Board to acquire the
Company at $73 per share of Common Stock. Valeant noted that it
made the offer public as a result of what Valeant perceived to
be a failure of the Company Board to engage in meaningful
discussions in a timely manner concerning an acquisition of the
Company by Valeant. Valeant also announced its intention to
commence a consent solicitation process during the week of
April 4, 2011 in an effort to remove impediments related to
a potential tender offer for the Common Stock, which tender
offer would only commence, subject to receipt of sufficient
support from the Companys stockholders (the Proposed
Offer).
THIS CONSENT STATEMENT IS NEITHER A REQUEST FOR THE TENDER OF
SHARES, NOR AN OFFER WITH RESPECT THERETO, AND DOES NOT CONVEY
RECORD OR BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SHARES TO VALEANT. NO
TENDER OFFER FOR SHARES OF THE COMPANY HAS COMMENCED AT
THIS TIME. ANY TENDER OFFER WILL BE MADE ONLY BY MEANS OF AN
OFFER TO PURCHASE AND A RELATED LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.
We are seeking your support for the removal of the Company Board
as of the time the Removal Proposal becomes effective and the
election of our Nominees because we believe that the Company
Board is not acting, and will not act, in your best interests.
Specifically, despite the fact that the $73 per share price in
the Proposed Offer represents a premium of approximately 29%
over the Companys
30-day
trading average prior to the announcement of the Proposed Offer
and is higher than any price at which the Companys shares
traded in the two years prior to the public announcement of the
Proposed Offer, the Company Board has declined to engage with us
regarding our Proposed Offer.
i
WE BELIEVE THAT THE COMPANYS STOCKHOLDERS THE
OWNERS OF THE COMPANY ARE ENTITLED TO MAKE A
DECISION ON WHETHER OR NOT THE COMPANY SHOULD BE SOLD.
We are sending you this Consent Statement and accompanying GOLD
consent card to enable you, the owners of the Company, to put in
place a board that we believe will, subject to their fiduciary
duties, dismantle the impediments to the consummation of the
Proposed Offer the poison pill that the Company has
in place and the need for the Company Board to approve the
Proposed Offer under Section 203 of the Delaware General
Corporation Law (the DGCL), so that there are no
supermajority requirements applicable to the consummation of the
Proposed Offer or the approval of a subsequent merger, which
merger would be on the same terms as the Proposed Offer, as
discussed in more detail below.
We believe the Nominees will, if the Nominees elected constitute
a majority of the Company Board and subject to their fiduciary
duties, act to remove the poison pill and to approve the
Proposed Offer under Section 203 of the DGCL, thereby
enabling the Companys stockholders, rather than the
incumbent Company Board, to determine whether the Proposed Offer
is acceptable. In consenting to the removal of the incumbent
Company Board and to the election of the Nominees, you are
sending a message to the Nominees that you want them to allow
the Proposed Offer to be consummated without these impediments.
If the Nominees are elected, we plan to propose to them that a
merger agreement be entered into pursuant to which our Proposed
Offer would proceed, and pursuant to which (i) we would
also commit to complete a second-step merger at the same price
per share in the Proposed Offer, and (ii) the Company would
grant us a customary
top-up
option. This
top-up
option common in merger agreements that
contemplate initial tender offers would, if
necessary, allow us to move from majority ownership as a result
of the Proposed Offer to 90% ownership so that we can complete a
short-form merger under Delaware law very promptly after our
payment to tendering stockholders and thereby pay non-tendering
stockholders their merger consideration substantially more
quickly. Furthermore, we believe that the Nominees will, if the
Nominees elected constitute a majority of the Company Board,
permit us to conduct due diligence, which could result in a
modest increase to any ultimate offer price, should the results
of such exercise demonstrate greater value than is supported by
the Companys public filings. While we fully expect that
such due diligence will result in our being in a position to
modestly increase our offer price, it is possible that we could
reduce our offer price if the Company takes any further actions
that reduce its value to us and/or if the due diligence reveals
material undisclosed information that negatively impacts the
Company.
We have not asked for any commitment from the Nominees to agree
to such a merger agreement, and they would have to consider it
in the exercise of their fiduciary duties. Pursuant to the
Nomination Agreements between Valeant and each of the Nominees
(a form of which is included as Annex C to this Consent
Statement), each Nominee has agreed, if elected, to serve as a
director of the Company, and in that capacity to act in the best
interests of the Company and its stockholders and to exercise
his independent judgment in accordance with his fiduciary duties
in all matters that come before the Company Board.
If the Nominees elected do not constitute a majority of the
Company Board, they will not be able to unilaterally cause the
Company Board to take (or not take) any specific action. In such
an event, Valeant expects that the Nominees will, subject to
their fiduciary duties, seek to influence the Company Board and
management of the Company to consider removing the impediments
to the Proposed Offer, permitting due diligence and entering
into a merger agreement. However, there can be no assurance that
the Nominees, if they constitute less than a majority of the
Board, will be able to persuade other members of the Company
Board to join with them in considering these actions.
On April 5, 2011, the Company announced that the Company
Board had fixed April 8, 2011 (the Record Date)
as the record date for the determination of the Companys
stockholders who are entitled to execute, withhold or revoke
consents relating to this consent solicitation. On April 6,
2011, we provided written notice to the secretary of the Company
acknowledging that Record Date.
The effectiveness of each of the Proposals requires the
affirmative consent of the holders of record, as of the close of
business on the Record Date, of a majority of the shares of
Common Stock then outstanding. Each Proposal will be effective
when we deliver to the Company such requisite number of
consents, subject to Section 2.08 of the Fourth Amended and
Restated Bylaws of the Company, which provides for a ministerial
review of consents by
ii
nationally recognized independent inspectors of election.
Neither the Bylaw Restoration Proposal nor the Removal Proposal
is subject to, or is conditioned upon, the effectiveness of the
other Proposals. The Election Proposal is conditioned upon the
effectiveness of the Removal Proposal. The number of Nominees
that can be elected pursuant to the Election Proposal will
depend on the number of members of the Company Board that are
removed pursuant to the Removal Proposal.
Please see the sections titled PROPOSAL 1
THE BYLAW RESTORATION PROPOSAL,
PROPOSAL 2 THE REMOVAL PROPOSAL and
PROPOSAL 3 THE ELECTION PROPOSAL
for the full text of, and a more complete description of, the
Proposals.
In addition, none of the Proposals will be effective unless the
delivery of the written consents complies with
Section 228(c) of the DGCL. For the Proposals to be
effective, properly completed and unrevoked written consents to
the Proposals from the holders of record as of the close of
business on the Record Date of a majority of the shares of
Common Stock then outstanding must be delivered to the Company,
under Delaware law and the Companys Bylaws, within
60 days of the earliest dated written consent delivered to
the Company.
However, we have set May 12, 2011 as the
deadline for submission of written consents, but we reserve the
right to extend such deadline. Effectively, this means that you
have until May 12, 2011 to consent to the Proposals. WE
URGE YOU TO ACT PROMPTLY TO ENSURE THAT YOUR CONSENT WILL COUNT.
We reserve the right to submit consents to the Company at
any time within 60 days of the earliest dated written
consent delivered to the Company. See CONSENT
PROCEDURES for additional information regarding such
procedures.
This solicitation is being made by Valeant and certain other
participants named herein and not by or on behalf of the Company
or the incumbent Company Board.
Except as otherwise expressly set forth in this Consent
Statement, the information concerning the Company contained in
this Consent Statement has been taken from or based upon
publicly available documents and records on file with the SEC
and other public sources and is qualified in its entirety by
reference thereto. Valeant, the Nominees and the other
participants named herein cannot take responsibility for the
accuracy or completeness of the information contained in such
documents and records or for any failure by the Company to
disclose events which may have occurred or may affect the
significance or accuracy of any such information but which are
unknown to Valeant, the Nominees and the other participants
named herein. Valeant, the Nominees and the other participants
named herein have relied upon the accuracy of the information
included in such publicly available documents and records and
other public sources and have not made any independent attempt
to verify the accuracy of such information.
YOUR CONSENT IS IMPORTANT.
Valeant urges you to consent to the Bylaw Restoration
Proposal, the Removal Proposal and the Election Proposal by
following the instructions on the GOLD consent card.
We urge you not to revoke your consent
by signing any
consent revocation card sent to you by the Company or otherwise,
and to revoke any consent revocation you may have already
submitted to the Company.
To revoke an earlier revocation
and change your vote, simply consent to the Proposals by
following the instructions on the GOLD consent card.
According to the preliminary consent revocation statement filed
by the Company with the SEC on April 15, 2011, as of the
Record Date, there were 76,151,414 shares of Common Stock
outstanding (excluding treasury shares). The stockholders of the
Company are entitled to one vote per share of Common Stock.
IMPORTANT
PLEASE
READ THIS CAREFULLY
If your shares of Common Stock are registered in your own name,
please submit your consent to us today by following the
instructions on the GOLD consent card.
If your shares of Common Stock are held in the name of a
brokerage firm, bank, dealer, trust company or other nominee,
only it can execute a consent representing your shares of Common
Stock and only upon receipt of your
iii
specific instructions. Accordingly, you should follow the
instructions included in the materials that you have received or
contact the person responsible for your account and give
instructions to consent to the Proposals on your behalf. Valeant
recommends that you then confirm in writing your instructions to
the person responsible for your account and provide a copy of
those instructions to Valeant, care of Georgeson Inc., which is
assisting in this solicitation, at the address and telephone
numbers set forth below, so that Valeant will be aware of all
instructions given and can attempt to ensure that those
instructions are followed. Execution and delivery of a consent
by a record holder of shares of Common Stock will be presumed to
be a consent with respect to all shares held by such record
holder unless the consent specifies otherwise.
Valeant recommends that you NOT return any Revocation of
Consent card sent to you by the Company.
Only holders of record of shares of Common Stock as of the close
of business on the Record Date will be entitled to consent to
the Proposals. If you are a stockholder of record as of the
close of business on the Record Date, you will retain your right
to consent even if you sell your shares of Common Stock after
the Record Date.
IF YOU TAKE NO ACTION, YOU WILL IN EFFECT BE REJECTING THE
PROPOSALS. ABSTENTIONS, FAILURES TO CONSENT AND BROKER NON-VOTES
WILL HAVE THE SAME EFFECT AS WITHHOLDING CONSENT WHICH IS THE
SAME AS A NO VOTE.
If you have any questions about executing or delivering your
GOLD consent card or require assistance, please contact:
199 Water Street,
26
th
Floor
New York, NY
10038-3560
Banks and Brokers Call
(212) 440-9800
All Others Call Toll-Free
(800) 509-0917
iv
TABLE OF
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v
FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
Valeant urges you to read this entire Consent Statement
carefully. This Consent Statement may contain forward-looking
statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding
our Proposed Offer, financing related to our Proposed Offer,
opportunities and our plans should we acquire the Company, the
effect of a proposed transaction on financial results and
certain financial projections. Forward-looking statements may be
identified by the use of the words anticipates,
expects, intends, plans,
should, could, would,
may, will, believes,
estimates, potential, or
continue and variations or similar expressions.
These statements are based upon the current expectations and
beliefs of management of Valeant and are subject to certain
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those described in the forward-looking
statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, risks and uncertainties discussed in Valeants
most recent annual or quarterly report filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Canadian
Securities Administrators (CSA) and risks and
uncertainties relating to the Proposed Offer, as detailed from
time to time in Valeants filings with the SEC and the CSA,
which factors are incorporated herein by reference. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of these
forward-looking statements. Valeant undertakes no obligation to
update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events
or circumstances after the date of this Consent Statement or to
reflect actual outcomes except as required by securities laws.
You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we
make on related subjects in our filings with the SEC and the CSA.
QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS ABOUT THIS WRITTEN CONSENT SOLICITATION
Who is
making the solicitation?
The solicitation is being made by Valeant and certain other
participants named herein.
Valeant is a Canadian corporation with its principal executive
offices located at 7150 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario,
Canada, L5N 8M5.
For additional information concerning Valeant, please see the
section titled OTHER INFORMATION Participants
in the Solicitation and Solicitation of Written Consents.
For information regarding directors, officers and employees of
Valeant who may assist in the solicitation of written consents,
please see the section titled OTHER
INFORMATION Participants in the Solicitation and
Solicitation of Written Consents and Annex B of this
Consent Statement.
Who is
paying for the solicitation?
Valeant will pay all costs of the solicitation and will not seek
reimbursement of those costs from the Company.
To what
are we asking you to consent?
Valeant is asking you to consent to three corporate actions:
(1) the Bylaw Restoration Proposal, (2) the Removal
Proposal and (3) the Election Proposal.
Valeant is asking you to consent to the Removal Proposal and the
Election Proposal to remove those persons who are the directors
of the Company Board immediately prior to the effectiveness of
the Removal Proposal, together with any persons chosen by the
Company Board prior to the effectiveness of the Removal Proposal
to become members of the Company Board at any future time or
upon any event, and to elect each of the Nominees.
The Companys 2011 annual meeting of stockholders at which
directors are elected is presently scheduled for May 10,
2011. Since the members of the current board are the same
persons who would be elected at the 2011 annual meeting, the
same individuals would be removed whether the Removal Proposal
became effective before or after the election of directors at
the 2011 annual meeting. In addition, should the Company Board
propose the election of any additional individuals, to be
effective at a future time or upon any event, the Removal
Proposal would also remove those persons. If the Removal
Proposal and the Election Proposal become effective prior to the
2011 annual meeting, and the Nominees elected constitute a
majority of the Company Board, it is contemplated that the 2011
annual meeting would likely be postponed in order for the newly
elected Company Board to dismantle the impediments to the
consummation of the Proposed Offer as described herein and the
stockholders to be able to respond to the Proposed Offer.
1
In addition, in order to ensure that your consent to elect the
Nominees will not be modified or diminished by actions taken by
the incumbent Company Board prior to the election of such
Nominees, Valeant is asking you to consent to the Bylaw
Restoration Proposal.
Please see the sections titled PROPOSAL 1
THE BYLAW RESTORATION PROPOSAL,
PROPOSAL 2 THE REMOVAL PROPOSAL and
PROPOSAL 3 THE ELECTION PROPOSAL
for the full text of, and a more complete description of, the
Proposals.
Who are
the Nominees that Valeant is proposing to elect to the Company
Board?
Valeant is asking you to elect each of Santo J. Costa, Abe M.
Friedman, Richard H. Koppes, Lawrence N. Kugelman, Anders
Lönner, John H. McArthur, Thomas G. Plaskett and Blair H.
Sheppard to serve as a director of the Company. Except as
otherwise disclosed in this Consent Statement, the Nominees are
independent persons not affiliated with Valeant or the Company.
They are highly qualified, experienced and well-respected
members of the business community who are committed to act in
the best interests of the Company and its stockholders.
We believe the Nominees will, if the Nominees elected constitute
a majority of the Company Board and subject to their fiduciary
duties, remove the impediments to the stockholders being able to
accept the Proposed Offer, by eliminating the poison pill and
approving the Proposed Offer under Section 203 of the DGCL,
so that there are no supermajority requirements applicable to
the acceptance of the Proposed Offer or the approval of the
contemplated subsequent merger, which would be on the same terms
as the Proposed Offer. In consenting to the removal of the
incumbent Company Board and the election of the Nominees, you
are sending a message to the Nominees that you want them to
allow the Proposed Offer to be consummated without these
impediments.
If the Nominees are elected, we plan to propose to them that a
merger agreement be entered into pursuant to which our Proposed
Offer would proceed, and pursuant to which (i) we would
also commit to complete a second-step merger at the same price
per share in the Proposed Offer, and (ii) the Company would
grant us a customary
top-up
option. This
top-up
option common in merger agreements that
contemplate initial tender offers would, if
necessary, allow us to move from majority ownership as a result
of the Proposed Offer to 90% ownership so that we can complete a
short-form merger under Delaware law very promptly after our
payment to tendering stockholders and thereby pay non-tendering
stockholders their merger consideration substantially more
quickly. Furthermore, we believe that the Nominees will, if the
Nominees elected constitute a majority of the Company Board,
permit us to conduct due diligence, which could result in a
modest increase to any ultimate offer price, should the results
of such exercise demonstrate greater value than is supported by
the Companys public filings. While we fully expect that
such due diligence will result in our being in a position to
modestly increase our offer price, it is possible that we could
reduce our offer price if the Company takes any further actions
that reduce its value to us and/or if the due diligence reveals
material undisclosed information that negatively impacts the
Company. We have not asked for any commitment from the Nominees
to agree to such a merger agreement, and they would have to
consider it in the exercise of their fiduciary duties.
Pursuant to the nomination agreements between Valeant and each
of the Nominees (the Nomination Agreements, a form
of which is included as Annex C to this Consent Statement),
each Nominee has agreed, if elected, to serve as a director of
the Company, and in that capacity to act in the best interests
of the Company and its stockholders and to exercise his
independent judgment in accordance with his fiduciary duties in
all matters that come before the Company Board.
If the Nominees elected do not constitute a majority of the
Company Board, they will not be able to unilaterally cause the
Company Board to take (or not take) any specific action. In such
an event, Valeant expects that the Nominees will, subject to
their fiduciary duties, seek to influence the Company Board and
management of the Company to consider removing the impediments
to the Proposed Offer, permitting due diligence and entering
into a merger agreement. However, there can be no assurance that
the Nominees, if they constitute less than a majority of the
Board, will be able to persuade other members of the Company
Board to join with them in considering these actions.
For information regarding the Nominees, please see the section
titled THE NOMINEES and Annex A of this Consent
Statement.
2
Why are
we soliciting your consent?
Despite the substantial premium to the market price of the
Common Stock prior to the announcement of the Proposed Offer
offered by Valeant in the letters sent by Valeant to the Company
Board and the certainty of value associated with Valeants
all-cash offer, the Company Board has refused to engage in
meaningful discussions in a timely manner concerning an
acquisition of the Company by Valeant.
Furthermore, as recently as March 21 and March 28, 2011,
the Company has publicly announced commitments to spend
approximately $388 million of its cash on what we believe
to be risky investments, namely its proposed transactions to
acquire Gemin X Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and ChemGenex
Pharmaceuticals Limited. Any Company stockholder who shares our
negative view of these investments should act quickly in order
to replace the incumbent Company Board if the incumbent Company
Board continues to reject our offer.
We are sending you this Consent Statement and accompanying GOLD
consent card to enable you to elect a board of directors that we
believe will, subject to their fiduciary duties, dismantle the
impediments which presently prevent you from being able to
accept the Proposed Offer. These impediments are the poison pill
that the Company has in place and the need for the Company Board
to approve the Proposed Offer under Section 203 of the DGCL
so that there are no supermajority requirements applicable to
the acceptance of the Proposed Offer or the approval of the
contemplated subsequent merger. We believe the Nominees will, if
the Nominees elected constitute a majority of the Company Board
and subject to their fiduciary duties, act to remove the poison
pill and to approve the Proposed Offer under Section 203 of
the DGCL, thereby enabling the Companys stockholders,
rather than the incumbent Company Board, to determine whether
the Proposed Offer is acceptable.
In addition, we are also soliciting your consent in favor of the
adoption of the Bylaw Restoration Proposal to prevent the
incumbent Company Board from tying the hands of the newly
elected directors through changes to the amended and restated
bylaws of the Company filed with the SEC on March 16, 2011.
Your consent for the Bylaw Restoration Proposal, the Removal
Proposal
and/or
the
Election Proposal does not obligate you to accept the Proposed
Offer or otherwise consent to any transaction between the
Company and Valeant.
How does
the poison pill affect Valeants ability to consummate the
Proposed Offer?
Preferred share purchase rights (the Rights) have
been issued to all stockholders of the Company under the Second
Amended and Restated Rights Agreement, dated October 27,
2003, between the Company and StockTrans, Inc., which is an
agreement of the type commonly referred to as a poison pill.
Because poison pills would cause punitive economic and voting
dilution to an acquirer who buys shares in excess of the
triggering threshold, which is 20% in this instance, all tender
offers are conditioned on the removal or invalidation of a
poison pill when one is in place. We believe the Nominees will,
if the Nominees elected constitute a majority of the Company
Board and subject to their fiduciary duties, act to remove the
poison pill and to approve the Proposed Offer under
Section 203 of the DGCL, so that there are no supermajority
requirements applicable to the acceptance of the Proposed Offer,
thereby enabling the Companys stockholders, rather than
the incumbent Company Board, to determine whether the Proposed
Offer is acceptable.
For more information on the poison pill, please see the section
titled THE NOMINEES below.
Who can
consent to the Proposals?
If you were a record owner of shares of Common Stock as of the
close of business on April 8, 2011, the Record Date, you
have the right to consent to the Proposals.
You also have the right to consent to the Proposals with respect
to any shares of Common Stock of which you are the beneficial
owner as of the Record Date, but which are registered in the
name of a bank, broker firm, dealer, trust company or other
nominee. Please see the section titled VOTING
SECURITIES for details regarding how to instruct your
bank, broker firm, dealer, trust company or other nominee to
consent to the Proposals.
3
When is
the deadline for submitting consents?
For the Proposals to be effective, properly completed and
unrevoked written consents to the Proposals from the holders of
record as of the close of business on the Record Date of a
majority of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding must be
delivered to the Company, under Delaware law and the
Companys Bylaws, within 60 days of the earliest dated
written consent delivered to the Company.
However, we have
set May 12, 2011 as the deadline for submission of written
consents, but we reserve the right to extend such deadline.
Effectively, this means that you have until May 12, 2011 to
consent to the Proposals. WE URGE YOU TO ACT PROMPTLY TO ENSURE
THAT YOUR CONSENT WILL COUNT.
We reserve the right to submit
consents to the Company at any time within 60 days of the
earliest dated written consent delivered to the Company. See
CONSENT PROCEDURES for additional information
regarding such procedures.
How many
consents must be granted in favor of each of the
Proposals?
Each of the Bylaw Restoration Proposal, the Removal Proposal and
the election of each Nominee to the Company Board will be
adopted and become effective when properly completed, unrevoked
consents are signed by the holders of a majority of the shares
of Common Stock outstanding as of the close of business on the
Record Date, provided that such consents are delivered to the
Company within 60 days of the earliest dated written
consent delivered to the Company, although we have set an
earlier deadline of May 12, 2011, which we reserve the
right to extend.
According to the preliminary consent revocation statement filed
by the Company with the SEC on April 15, 2011, as of the
Record Date, there were 76,151,414 shares of Common Stock
outstanding (excluding treasury shares). Assuming that the
number of outstanding shares of Common Stock on the Record Date
is 76,151,414, the consent of stockholders holding at least
38,075,708 shares of Common Stock would be necessary to
effect each of the Bylaw Restoration Proposal, the Removal
Proposal and the election of each Nominee to the Company Board.
IF YOU TAKE NO ACTION, YOU WILL IN EFFECT BE REJECTING THE
PROPOSALS. ABSTENTIONS, FAILURES TO CONSENT AND BROKER NON-VOTES
WILL HAVE THE SAME EFFECT AS WITHHOLDING CONSENT WHICH IS THE
SAME AS A NO VOTE. Broker non-votes
occur when a bank, broker firm, dealer, trust company or other
nominee holder has not received instructions with respect to a
particular matter, including the Proposals, and therefore does
not have discretionary power to vote on that matter.
What
should you do to consent?
If your shares of Common Stock are registered in your own name,
please submit your consent to us by telephone or via the
Internet, or by signing, dating and returning the enclosed GOLD
consent card in the postage-paid envelope provided. Submitting
your consent by telephone or Internet authorizes your consent in
the same manner as if you had signed, dated and returned a
consent card.
If your shares of Common Stock are held in the name of a
brokerage firm, bank, dealer, trust company or other nominee,
only it can execute a consent representing your shares of Common
Stock and only upon receipt of your specific instructions.
Accordingly, you should follow the instructions included in the
materials that you have received or contact the person
responsible for your account and give instructions to consent to
the Proposals on your behalf. Valeant recommends that you then
confirm in writing your instructions to the person responsible
for your account and provide a copy of those instructions to
Valeant, care of Georgeson Inc., which is assisting in this
solicitation, at the address and telephone numbers set forth
herein, so that Valeant will be aware of all instructions given
and can attempt to ensure that those instructions are followed.
Execution and delivery of a consent by a record holder of shares
of Common Stock will be presumed to be a consent with respect to
all shares held by such record holder unless the consent
specifies otherwise.
Valeant recommends that you NOT return any Revocation of
Consent card sent to you by the Company.
Whom
should you call if you have questions about the
solicitation?
If you have any questions regarding this Consent Statement,
please call our consent solicitor, Georgeson Inc., toll-free at
(800) 509-0917.
Banks and brokers may call
(212) 440-9800.
4
IMPORTANT
Valeant urges you to express your consent on the GOLD consent
card or as otherwise specified above under the section titled
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THIS WRITTEN CONSENT
SOLICITATION What should you do to consent?
TODAY with respect to:
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the Removal Proposal and the Election Proposal to remove the
incumbent Company Board (including pending directors) and elect
each of the Nominees; and
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the Bylaw Restoration Proposal to ensure that the incumbent
Company Board does not limit the effect of your consent to the
removal of the incumbent Board and the replacement thereof
through the election of the Nominees.
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A consent to remove the members of the Company Board and any
other person or persons chosen for the Company Board by the
incumbent members of the Company Board and to elect the Nominees
will enable you as the owners of the
Company to put in place a board of directors that we
believe will, subject to their fiduciary duties, dismantle those
impediments which presently prevent the Proposed Offer from
being consummated.
PROPOSAL 1
THE BYLAW RESTORATION PROPOSAL
Valeant is asking you to consent to the adoption of the Bylaw
Restoration Proposal to prevent the incumbent Company Board from
tying the hands of the newly elected directors through changes
to the amended and restated bylaws of the Company filed with the
SEC on March 16, 2011 (the
March 16th Bylaws).
The following is the text of the Bylaw Restoration Proposal:
RESOLVED, that any changes to the amended and restated
bylaws of Cephalon, Inc. filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission on March 16, 2011, be and are hereby
repealed.
Valeant believes that any change to the Companys bylaws
adopted after March 16, 2011 could serve to limit the
ability of the Nominees to pursue the best interests of the
Company and its stockholders. If the incumbent Company Board
does not effect any change to the March 16th Bylaws,
the Bylaw Restoration Proposal will have no effect. However, if
the incumbent Company Board does effect a change to the
March 16th Bylaws, which under the charter of the
Company, the incumbent Company Board is empowered to do without
stockholder approval, the Bylaw Restoration Proposal, if
adopted, will restore the Companys bylaws to the
March 16th Bylaws, without considering the nature of
any changes the incumbent Company Board may have effected. As a
result, the Bylaw Restoration Proposal could have the effect of
repealing bylaw amendments which one or more stockholders of the
Company may consider to be beneficial to them or to the Company.
However, the Bylaw Restoration Proposal will not preclude the
newly elected Company Board from reconsidering any repealed
bylaw changes following the consent solicitation. Valeant is not
currently aware of any specific bylaw provisions that would be
repealed by the adoption of the Bylaw Restoration Proposal.
VALEANT
URGES YOU TO CONSENT TO THE BYLAW RESTORATION PROPOSAL.
PROPOSAL 2
THE REMOVAL PROPOSAL
Valeant is asking you to consent to the Removal Proposal to
remove all members of the Company Board and any other person or
persons nominated, appointed or elected by the Company Board to
become a member of the Company Board at any future time or upon
any event (which, for the avoidance of doubt, excludes Nominees
elected pursuant to this consent solicitation and their
successors). The following is the text of the Removal Proposal:
RESOLVED, that each member of the board of directors of
Cephalon, Inc. as of the time this resolution becomes effective,
and each person, if any, theretofore nominated, appointed or
elected by the board of directors of Cephalon, Inc. prior to the
effectiveness of this resolution to become a member of the board
of directors of Cephalon, Inc. at any future time or upon any
event, be and hereby is removed.
The Company is scheduled to hold its 2011 annual meeting of
stockholders on May 10, 2011. According to the
Companys proxy statement with respect to the 2011 annual
meeting and the Companys subsequent filing on
Form 8-K
announcing the retirement of Charles A. Sanders, the eight
nominees for election are all presently directors of the
Company. The eight nominees named in the Companys proxy
statement (taking into account
5
Dr. Sanders retirement) are: J. Kevin Buchi, William
P. Egan, Martyn D. Greenacre, Charles J. Homcy, Vaughn M.
Kailian, Kevin E. Moley, Gail R. Wilensky and Dennis L. Winger.
Under Delaware law, directors not serving on a classified board
may be removed from office by the stockholders without cause.
The Companys board is not classified, and accordingly, all
of the Companys current directors may be removed without
cause by the holders of a majority of the shares entitled to
vote or consent as of the applicable record date. Since the
members of the current board are the same persons who would be
elected at the 2011 annual meeting, the same individuals would
be removed whether the Removal Proposal became effective before
or after the election of directors at the 2011 annual meeting.
In addition, should the Company Board propose the election of
any additional individuals, to be effective at a future time or
upon any event, the Removal Proposal would also remove those
persons.
The GOLD consent card delivered with this Consent Statement
provides each stockholder of the Company with the opportunity to
adopt the Removal Proposal in part by designating the name of
any member of the Company Board or nominee, appointee or electee
of the current members of the Company Board whom such
stockholder does not want removed from the Company Board on the
GOLD consent card. Accordingly, it is possible that some, but
not all, of the directors then in office may be removed pursuant
to the Removal Proposal. If fewer than all of the directors then
in office are removed, then vacancies will be filled by those
Nominees who receive the greatest number of consents. If there
are two or more Nominees to fill the last vacancy who have
received an equal number of consents, the elder of such Nominees
will fill the vacancy. To the extent that a Nominee is elected
by you but such Nominee cannot serve because there is no
vacancy, the new Company Board may, because a majority of the
outstanding shares have consented to elect such Nominee and in
order to effect the consent of such holders, vote to enlarge the
size of the Company Board and name such Nominee to a
newly-created directorship. Valeant recommends that you consent
to remove the entire Company Board then in office at the time
the Removal Proposal becomes effective.
If the Nominees elected do not constitute a majority of the
Company Board, they will not be able to unilaterally cause the
Company Board to take (or not take) any specific action. In such
an event, Valeant expects that the Nominees will, subject to
their fiduciary duties, seek to influence the Company Board and
management of the Company to consider removing the impediments
to the Proposed Offer, permitting due diligence and entering
into a merger agreement. However, there can be no assurance that
the Nominees, if they constitute less than a majority of the
Board, will be able to persuade other members of the Company
Board to join with them in considering these actions.
VALEANT
URGES YOU TO CONSENT TO THE REMOVAL PROPOSAL.
PROPOSAL 3
THE ELECTION PROPOSAL
Valeant is asking you to consent to elect, without a
stockholders meeting, each of the following individuals to
serve as a director of the Company:
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Name
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Age
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Santo J. Costa
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65
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Abe M. Friedman
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38
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Richard H. Koppes
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64
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Lawrence N. Kugelman
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68
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Anders Lönner
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66
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John H. McArthur
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77
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Thomas G. Plaskett
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67
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Blair H. Sheppard
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58
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The following is the text of the Election Proposal:
To elect each of the following eight
(8) individuals to serve as a director of Cephalon, Inc.:
Santo J. Costa, Abe M. Friedman, Richard H. Koppes, Lawrence N.
Kugelman, Anders Lönner, John H. McArthur, Thomas G.
Plaskett and Blair H. Sheppard
.
Although Valeant has no reason to believe that any of the
Nominees will be unable or unwilling to serve as directors, if
any of the Nominees is not available for election, then the
remaining Nominees that are elected intend,
6
upon becoming directors and if they constitute a majority of the
board, to act to fill any vacancy resulting from such unable or
unwilling Nominee not being elected. Each of the Nominees has
agreed to be named in this Consent Statement and to serve as a
director of the Company, if elected. If elected, each Nominee
will hold office until his or her successor is elected and
qualified at the next annual meeting of stockholders of the
Company or until his or her earlier death, resignation,
retirement, disqualification or removal. If the Removal Proposal
and the Election Proposal become effective prior to the 2011
annual meeting, and the Nominees elected constitute a majority
of the Company Board, it is contemplated that the 2011 annual
meeting would likely be postponed in order for the newly elected
Company Board to dismantle the impediments to the consummation
of the Proposed Offer as described herein and the stockholders
to be able to respond to the Proposed Offer.
In addition, depending upon the number of directors of the
Company removed pursuant to the Removal Proposal and the number
of Nominees elected pursuant to the Election Proposal, one or
more vacancies may exist on the Company Board. If a vacancy
exists, the Company Board would determine whether to reduce the
size of the Company Board or appoint additional directors to
fill that vacancy. That determination would require the approval
of a majority of the directors.
The GOLD consent card delivered with this Consent Statement
provides each stockholder of the Company with the opportunity to
adopt Proposal No. 3 in part by designating the names
of any of the Nominees whom such stockholder does not want
elected to the Company Board.
For additional information concerning the Nominees and the
specific qualities of each Nominee considered by the Valeant
Board in the course of its deliberations leading to their
nomination, please see the sections titled THE
NOMINEES and OTHER INFORMATION
Participants in the Solicitation and Solicitation of Written
Consents and Annex A of this Consent Statement.
VALEANT
URGES YOU TO CONSENT TO THE ELECTION OF ALL NOMINEES.
NUMBER OF
CONSENTS REQUIRED FOR THE PROPOSALS
Each of the Bylaw Restoration Proposal, the Removal Proposal and
the election of each Nominee to the Company Board will be
adopted and become effective when properly completed, unrevoked
consents are signed by the holders of a majority of the
outstanding shares of Common Stock as of the close of business
on the Record Date, provided that such consents are delivered to
the Company within 60 days of the earliest dated written
consent delivered to the Company, although we have set an
earlier deadline of May 12, 2011 for delivery of consents,
which deadline we reserve the right to extend.
According to the preliminary consent revocation statement filed
by the Company with the SEC on April 15, 2011, as of the Record
Date, there were 76,151,414 shares of Common Stock
outstanding (excluding treasury shares). Assuming that the
number of outstanding shares of Common Stock on the Record Date
is 76,151,414, the consent of stockholders holding at least
38,075,708 shares of Common Stock would be necessary to
effect each of the Bylaw Restoration Proposal, the Removal
Proposal and the election of each Nominee to the Company Board.
IF YOU TAKE NO ACTION, YOU WILL IN EFFECT BE REJECTING THE
PROPOSALS. ABSTENTIONS, FAILURES TO CONSENT AND BROKER NON-VOTES
WILL HAVE THE SAME EFFECT AS WITHHOLDING CONSENT. Broker
non-votes occur when a bank, broker firm, dealer, trust
company or other nominee holder has not received instructions
with respect to a particular matter, including the Proposals,
and therefore does not have discretionary power to vote on that
matter. As a result, you should follow the instructions included
in the materials that you have received or contact the person
responsible for your account and give instructions to consent to
the Proposals on your behalf. Valeant recommends that you then
confirm in writing your instructions to the person responsible
for your account and provide a copy of those instructions to
Valeant, care of Georgeson Inc., which is assisting in this
solicitation, at the address and telephone numbers set forth
herein, so that Valeant will be aware of all instructions given
and can attempt to ensure that those instructions are followed.
Execution and delivery of a consent by a record holder of shares
of Common Stock will be presumed to be a consent with respect to
all shares held by such record holder unless the consent
specifies otherwise.
7
Neither the Bylaw Restoration Proposal nor the Removal Proposal
is subject to, or is conditioned upon, the effectiveness of the
other Proposals. The Election Proposal is conditioned upon the
effectiveness of the Removal Proposal. The number of Nominees
that can be elected pursuant to the Election Proposal will
depend on the number of existing members of the Company Board
removed pursuant to the Removal Proposal.
BACKGROUND
OF THE WRITTEN CONSENT SOLICITATION
Valeants management regularly reviews transaction
alternatives across the pharmaceutical industry. During the
second half of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011, Valeant
management reviewed materials with assistance from
representatives of Goldman, Sachs & Co. (Goldman
Sachs) relating to a number of companies in the
pharmaceutical industry, including the Company. Following a
mid-February meeting between Valeant management and
representatives of Goldman Sachs, Valeant management identified
the Company as one of multiple potential acquisition candidates.
On March 3, 2011, Mr. Pearson and Mr. Buchi had a
brief initial meeting during which Mr. Pearson expressed an
interest in a range of potential transactions involving Valeant
and the Company, but during which no specific proposal was made.
On March 10, 2011, at a regularly scheduled meeting of
Valeants Board of Directors (the Valeant
Board), among other matters considered, Valeant management
and representatives of Goldman Sachs made preliminary
presentations to the Valeant Board with respect to the Company
to determine whether to pursue a potential transaction with the
Company. At that meeting, Valeant determined to continue a
further evaluation of a potential acquisition of the Company and
formed and authorized a special committee of the Valeant Board
(the Special Committee) to work in conjunction with
Valeant management and assist the Valeant Board with respect to
such a transaction.
Following the March 10, 2011 meeting, Valeant management
and its advisors continued to evaluate a potential acquisition
of the Company, and on March 17, 2011, the Special
Committee held a meeting with Valeant management and its
advisors at which the Special Committee authorized
Mr. Pearson to deliver a non-binding proposal letter to
Mr. Buchi at a meeting Mr. Pearson had arranged for
the following day.
On March 18, 2011, at a meeting held in person between
Mr. Pearson and Mr. Buchi, Mr. Pearson delivered
to Mr. Buchi a non-binding proposal letter addressed to the
Company Board in which Valeant (i) proposed to acquire all
of the Companys outstanding common shares for $73.00 per
share in cash, representing a 33% premium to the closing price
of the Companys common shares on March 17, 2011 and
higher than the Companys common shares had traded in over
two years and (ii) stated that it would consider revising
the $73.00 per share offer price if additional value was found
in the course of due diligence of non-public documents. Valeant
stated in the letter its belief that the $73.00 per share offer
price was compelling given the ongoing challenges facing the
Company and general challenges facing the broader pharmaceutical
industry. The letter also highlighted the successful track
record of Valeants management team over the last three
years of successfully acquiring and consolidating specialty
pharmaceutical companies and its strong relationships with
equity and debt investors, which allow Valeant, in its view, to
value the Company at a higher level than would other companies.
Further, the letter highlighted Valeants belief that the
completion of due diligence and negotiation and execution of a
merger agreement and other customary ancillary documents could
be completed within approximately one month.
During that March 18 meeting, Mr. Buchi expressed to
Mr. Pearson his confidence that the Company Board would
consider Valeants offer to be far below the range at which
the Company would be willing to engage in discussions regarding
a potential transaction. Additionally, Mr. Buchi indicated
to Mr. Pearson that, with respect to the premium to market
value represented by Valeants offer, he believed the
Companys stockholders and the market did not give the
Company enough credit for its pipeline potential.
On March 19, 2011, representatives from Goldman Sachs and
the Companys financial advisor, Deutsche Bank Securities
Inc. (Deutsche Bank) participated in a telephone
call to discuss Valeants proposal. The representatives of
Deutsche Bank indicated to the representatives of Goldman Sachs
on that call that they believed Valeants March 18 proposal
was unlikely to lead to productive discussions between Valeant
and the Company.
On March 21, 2011, the Company publicly announced that it
had signed a definitive merger agreement under which the Company
had agreed to acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of
Gemin X Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a
8
privately held biopharmaceutical company developing cancer
therapeutics, for $225 million cash on a cash-free,
debt-free basis with potential for Gemin X private shareholders
to receive as much as an additional $300 million in cash
payments if certain regulatory and sales goals are achieved.
On March 25, 2011, Mr. Pearson delivered a second
letter to Mr. Buchi in which he (i) expressed
disappointment in the Companys decision to acquire another
early-stage research and development program for
$225 million in cash and (ii) reiterated the
attractiveness of Valeants previous offer, but offered an
alternative structure for a transaction between Valeant and the
Company, which contemplated a sale by the Company to Valeant for
a total consideration of $2.8 billion, or approximately
$37.00 per share, in cash, of the following: (1) all
marketed products in the United States, other than those related
to oncology, as well as appropriate sales operations to support
those products; (2) all research and development programs
associated with the Companys Central Nervous System and
Pain business; and (3) all assets associated with the
acquired Mepha business, which Valeant believed would leave the
Company as a stand-alone, oncology-focused company with
sufficient cash, near-term revenue and infrastructure to develop
and commercialize most of its pipeline as well as provide
additional funds to fuel its early-development stage acquisition
strategy. As in its initial offer letter, Valeant highlighted
its belief that confirmatory diligence and negotiation of
agreements could be completed within one month.
On March 26, 2011, a member of the Valeant Board contacted
a member of the Company Board to discuss the proposals set forth
in the March 18, 2011 letter and the March 25, 2011
letter, during which the member of the Company Board stated that
in his view the alternative proposal set forth in the
March 25, 2011 letter was too complicated to allow the
Company Board to respond by April 1, 2011.
Additionally, during the period from March
23-27,
2011,
members of the Valeant Board attempted to contact members of the
Company Board on two occasions in an unsuccessful effort to
encourage the Company Board to engage in discussions in a timely
manner with respect to Valeants proposals.
On March 27, 2011, representatives from Goldman Sachs and
Deutsche Bank participated in a call to discuss the timeline set
forth in the March 25, 2011 letter for the Company to
respond. On that call, Deutsche Bank stated that the Company
Board would not be able to respond to Valeants proposals
until the middle of the week beginning April 4, 2011.
On March 28, 2011, Mr. Pearson and Mr. Buchi held
a telephone call in which Mr. Buchi stated that the Company
Board would not be meeting to discuss the offers made by Valeant
in the March 18 and March 25 letters until the week of
April 4, 2011. Mr. Buchi also expressed his doubt that
the Company Board would be interested in either of
Valeants offers.
On March 28, 2011, the Company and ChemGenex
Pharmaceuticals Limited released a joint public announcement
that the Companys wholly-owned subsidiary, Cephalon CXS
Holdings Pty Ltd, intended to make a takeover bid for ChemGenex
valuing ChemGenex at $231 million.
On March 29, 2011, representatives of Deutsche Bank called
representatives of Goldman Sachs to discuss certain questions
regarding the details of the alternative proposal set forth in
Valeants March 25 letter.
Also on March 29, 2011, the Valeant Board met with advisors
to discuss whether, and if so the manner in which, Valeant
should proceed with regard to an acquisition of the Company. At
that meeting, the Valeant Board concluded that offering the
Company Board additional time to consider Valeants
proposals was unlikely to alter the outcome of the Company
Boards decision. The Valeant Board resolved to continue to
seek to engage in discussions with the Company Board with
respect to Valeants proposals but to simultaneously make a
direct approach to the Companys stockholders by initiating
a consent solicitation process so that, if the Company Board
remained unwilling to engage in such discussions, the
Companys stockholders would have an opportunity to elect a
new Company Board that could be expected, subject to its
fiduciary duties, to remove the Companys poison pill, to
approve the Proposed Offer under Section 203 of DGCL and to
permit Valeant to conduct due diligence.
At that March 29 meeting, the Valeant Board also discussed
possible candidates for nomination for election as directors of
the Company in connection with a consent solicitation process,
and arrived at a list of over a dozen candidates, focusing upon
identifying a slate of nominees that had extensive experience of
executive leadership including in the healthcare and
pharmaceutical industries and broad-ranging expertise across
relevant fields such as
9
management, corporate governance, law and finance.
Mr. Plaskett was recommended as a candidate by a
representative of Valeants legal counsel,
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, and had no prior or ongoing
relationships or agreements with Valeant. Messrs. Costa,
Friedman, McArthur and Sheppard were each known to one or more
members of the Valeant Board or Valeants advisors by
virtue of their professional expertise and associations, but had
no prior or ongoing relationships or agreements with Valeant.
Mr. Lönner had been a member of the board of Valeant
Pharmaceutical International, a Delaware corporation
(VPI) from January 2009 until VPIs merger with
Biovail Corporation in September 2010. Mr. Lönner was
initially introduced to members of the Valeant Board and Valeant
management in connection with Valeants sale of certain of
its business operations located in Western and Eastern Europe,
the Middle East and Africa in August 2008 to Meda AB, an entity
of which Mr. Lönner is the Group President and Chief
Executive Officer. In addition, Valeant or its affiliates and
Meda AB are parties to certain other arrangements entered into
in the ordinary course of business on an arms-length basis,
including a supply agreement entered into between Valeants
wholly-owned Polish subsidiary ICN Polfa Rzeszow and Meda AB and
other joint venture arrangements with respect to the
commercialization of certain compounds. Aside from these
arms-length transactions involving Valeant or its affiliates and
Meda AB, and his service as an independent director of VPI,
Mr. Lönner had no prior or ongoing relationships or
agreements with Valeant. Messrs. Koppes and Kugelman were
also members of the board of VPI until VPIs merger with
Biovail Corporation and were both regarded as strong,
independent Board members with relevant expertise and
experience, but each had no ongoing relationships or agreements
with Valeant.
At the March 29 meeting, the Valeant Board authorized Valeant
management to deliver a third letter to the Company Board and to
publicly disclose that letter and Valeants intention to
commence a consent solicitation process. Mr. Pearson then
called Mr. Buchi, and representatives of Goldman Sachs then
called representatives of Deutsche Bank, in each case, to note
that Valeant was sending an additional letter to the Company,
and that Valeant would make public its proposals unless the
Company was willing to engage in discussions in a timely manner.
After the March 29 meeting of the Valeant Board was
completed, Valeant sent a third letter to the Company and issued
a press release. The letter expressed concern as to the
Companys recent acquisitions and expressed Valeants
belief that the Company was unduly delaying its response to
Valeants offers in order to erect barriers to
Valeants ability to complete its proposals and, in the
process, costing the Companys stockholders significant
value. The March 29 Valeant press release included each of the
March 18, March 25 and March 29 letters and publicly
announced Valeants proposal to acquire the Company for $73
per share in cash. It further announced Valeants intention
to commence a consent solicitation process during the week of
April 4, 2011 in an effort to replace the members of the
Company Board with its own nominees.
Also on March 29, 2011, the Company publicly confirmed that
it received unsolicited proposals from Valeant on March 18,
March 25 and March 29, 2011 and that it had informed
Valeant that it was working with its financial advisors to
review and consider each proposal and that the Company Board
would be meeting to consider the proposals and planned to
respond to Valeant during the week of April 4, 2011. The
Company further stated in that release that it planned to file a
consent revocation statement with the SEC in connection with any
consent solicitation process that was initiated by Valeant.
Between March 30 and April 5, 2011, each of the candidates
identified by the Valeant Board was approached with a view to
determining their interests (if any) in the Company and
willingness to accept nomination. With respect to each Nominee
other than Mr. Friedman, Valeant obtained positive
responses including signed Nomination Agreements and each of the
Nominees established to Valeants satisfaction that he was
independent in accordance with the definition of
independent used by the Company for determining if a
majority of the Company Board is independent in compliance with
the requirements of NASDAQ and further agreed, if elected, to
serve as a director of the Company, and in that capacity to act
in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders and to
exercise his independent judgment in accordance with his
fiduciary duties in all matters that come before the Company
Board. Having satisfied Valeant as to all these matters, among
others, the Nominees other than Mr. Friedman were chosen by
Valeant as nominees for purposes hereof. On April 13, 2011,
it was determined that Mr. Friedman would be added as a
nominee for election hereunder. On April 15, 2011, Valeant
received from Mr. Friedman a signed Nomination Agreement.
10
For additional information concerning the Nominees and the
specific qualities of each Nominee considered by the Valeant
Board in the course of its deliberations leading to their
nomination, please see the sections titled THE
NOMINEES Information regarding the Nominees
and OTHER INFORMATION Participants in the
Solicitation and Solicitation of Written Consents and
Annex A of this Consent Statement.
On April 5, 2011, the Company announced that the Company
Board had formally rejected Valeants offer to purchase the
Company for $73 per share. The press release stated that the
Company Board believed that Valeants offer was inadequate
and not in the best interests of the Companys stockholders.
The Company Board has not engaged with Valeant on the Proposed
Offer or allowed Valeant to undertake any non-public due
diligence of the Company. Valeant is therefore pursuing this
solicitation of written consents.
THE
NOMINEES
Pursuant to the Nomination Agreements between Valeant and each
of the Nominees, each Nominee has agreed, if elected, to serve
as a director of the Company, and in that capacity to act in the
best interests of the Company and its stockholders and to
exercise his independent judgment in accordance with his
fiduciary duties in all matters that come before the Company
Board. We believe the Nominees will, if the Nominees elected
constitute a majority of the Company Board, and subject to their
fiduciary duties, remove the poison pill and approve the
Proposed Offer under Section 203 of the DGCL. In consenting
to the removal of the incumbent Company Board and the election
of the Nominees to the Company Board, you are sending a message
to the Nominees that you want them to allow the Proposed Offer
to be accepted without these impediments.
If the Nominees are elected, we plan to propose to them that a
merger agreement be entered into pursuant to which our Proposed
Offer would proceed, and pursuant to which (i) we would
also commit to complete a second-step merger at the same price
per share in the Proposed Offer, and (ii) the Company would
grant us a customary
top-up
option. This
top-up
option common in merger agreements that
contemplate initial tender offers would, if
necessary, allow us to move from majority ownership as a result
of the Proposed Offer to 90% ownership so that we can complete a
short-form merger under Delaware law very promptly after our
payment to any tendering stockholders and thereby pay
non-tendering stockholders their merger consideration
substantially more quickly. Furthermore, we believe that the
Nominees will, if the Nominees elected constitute a majority of
the Company Board, permit us to conduct due diligence, which
could result in a modest increase to any ultimate offer price,
should the results of such exercise demonstrate greater value
than is supported by the Companys public filings. While we
fully expect that such due diligence will result in our being in
a position to modestly increase our offer price, it is possible
that we could reduce our offer price if the Company takes any
further actions that reduce its value to us and/or if the due
diligence reveals material undisclosed information that
negatively impacts the Company. We have not asked for any
commitment from the Nominees to agree to such a merger
agreement, and they would have to consider it in the exercise of
their fiduciary duties.
If the Nominees elected do not constitute a majority of the
Company Board, they will not be able to unilaterally cause the
Company Board to take (or not take) any specific action. In such
an event, Valeant expects that the Nominees will, subject to
their fiduciary duties, seek to influence the Company Board and
management of the Company to consider removing the impediments
to the Proposed Offer, permitting due diligence and entering
into a merger agreement. However, there can be no assurance that
the Nominees, if they constitute less than a majority of the
Board, will be able to persuade other members of the Company
Board to join with them in considering these actions.
Section 203 of the DGCL.
In general,
Section 203 of the DGCL prevents an interested
stockholder (generally, a stockholder owning 15% or more
of a corporations outstanding voting stock or an affiliate
or associate thereof) from engaging in a business
combination with a Delaware corporation, which would
include the second-step merger contemplated on the same terms as
the Proposed Offer, for a period of three years following the
time on which such stockholder became an interested stockholder
unless (i) prior to such time the corporations board
of directors approved either the business combination or the
transaction which resulted in such stockholder becoming an
interested stockholder, (ii) upon consummation of the
transaction which resulted in such stockholder becoming an
interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at
least 85% of the corporations voting stock outstanding at
the time the transaction commenced (excluding shares owned by
certain employee stock plans
11
and persons who are directors and also officers of the
corporation) or (iii) at or subsequent to such time the
business combination is approved by the corporations board
of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of
stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative
vote of at least
66
2
/
3
%
of the outstanding voting stock not owned by the interested
stockholder. Accordingly, under (i) above, if the Nominees
are elected and the newly constituted Company Board approves the
Proposed Offer, there will be no delay in, or supermajority
voting requirements applicable to, the contemplated second step
merger, which would be on the same terms as the Proposed Offer.
Poison Pill.
With the poison pill currently in
place, if Valeant were to purchase more than 20% of the shares
of Common Stock outstanding, each Right would enable the holders
to purchase multiple shares of Common Stock at half of market
value or receive one free share of Common Stock in exchange for
a Right. Any Rights Valeant purchased (either attached to or
separated from shares of Common Stock purchased in the Proposed
Offer) would be voided under the poison pill, resulting in
substantial potential economic and ownership dilution.
Accordingly, as is customary in offers to purchase, if the
Proposed Offer were commenced prior to the elimination of the
poison pill, its consummation would be conditioned upon the
Rights no longer being in existence or being rendered
inapplicable to the Proposed Offer.
Any description of the Rights contained herein is based upon
publicly available documents and does not purport to be complete
and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Rights
Agreement and the Agreement of Appointment and Joinder and
Amendment No. 1 to the Rights Agreement, dated
February 9, 2007 which are filed as Exhibit 1 to the
Companys Form 8A/12G filed with the SEC on
October 27, 2003 and as Exhibit 10.1 to the
Companys Current Report on
Form 8-K
filed with the SEC on February 13, 2007.
Information regarding the Nominees.
Valeant
believes the Nominees are independent in accordance with the
definition of independent used by the Company for
determining if a majority of the Company Board is independent in
compliance with the requirements of NASDAQ. In addition, Valeant
believes the Nominees are independent in accordance
with the applicable definition of independent used
by the Company for determining if a member of the corporate
governance committee, the compensation committee and the audit
committee of the Company Board is independent in compliance with
NASDAQs listing standards and the requirements of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Each of the Nominees has furnished the following information
regarding his or her principal occupations and certain other
matters. Included after each narrative is a brief summary of
certain specific attributes, competencies and characteristics of
the Nominee that led the Valeant, after discussions, to
recommend such Nominee for election to the Company Board. Except
as otherwise stated herein, none of the corporations or other
organizations in which any Nominee carried on his or her
principal occupations or employment during the past five years
is a subsidiary or other affiliate of the Company.
Mr. Santo J. Costa.
Mr. Costa has
served as a director of Labopharm Inc. since March 2006 and
Chairman of the Board since May 2006. Since June 2007 he has
been Of Counsel with Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell
and Jernigan, L.L.P., of Raleigh, North Carolina, specializing
in corporate law for healthcare companies. Mr. Costa has
served as a director of Cytokinetiks Inc. since November 2010
and Biovest Corp. I since November 2010. From June 2001 to
August 2007 he was Of Counsel with the law firm Williams,
Mullen, Maupin, Taylor. From April 1994 to December 2001,
Mr. Costa held various positions at Quintiles Transnational
Corporation, including positions as Vice Chairman and before
that, President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Costa was
an independent consultant from July 1993 until he joined
Quintiles in April 1994 and previously held the positions of
General Counsel and Senior Vice-President Administration with
Glaxo Inc., U.S. Area Counsel with Merrell Dow
Pharmaceuticals and Food & Drug Counsel with Norwich
Eaton Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Costa is an Adjunct Professor in
the clinical research program at the Campbell University School
of Pharmacy.
Valeant believes that Mr. Costa will bring to the Company
Board broad operational leadership experience in the
pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, including relevant
legal, regulatory, governance and policy expertise, and
including extensive experience as a public company executive and
board member. In his various roles with Quintiles, Mr. Costa
gained considerable experience in the evaluation of
pharmaceutical pipelines and with transformative business
combinations and a familiarity with traditional specialty
pharmaceutical business models.
12
Mr. Abe M. Friedman.
Mr. Friedman is
presently engaged in the establishment of an asset management
firm. He was until March 2011 a Managing Director and the Global
Head of the Corporate Governance and Responsible Investment
functions of BlackRock, Inc. He earlier served as a Managing
Director and the Global Head of Corporate Governance at Barclays
Global Investors (BGI) and prior to that as the
Director of Corporate Governance and Proxy Voting for the
Americas at BGI, which merged with BlackRock in 2009. In his
capacity as Global Head of the Corporate Governance and
Responsible Investment functions of BlackRock (and as the Global
Head of Corporate Governance at its predecessor, BGI),
Mr. Friedman oversaw the worldwide voting of shares held by
BlackRock (BGI). Prior to joining BGI in November 2005,
Mr. Friedman served as chief policy officer and general
counsel for Glass, Lewis & Co., LLC, a corporate
governance and proxy research firm. He joined Glass Lewis upon
its founding and developed and led Glass Lewis proxy
research business. Prior to that, Mr. Friedman served as a
deputy city attorney for the City and County of
San Francisco where, among other things, he served as
counsel to the San Francisco Ethics Commission and advised
city officials on political ethics laws. Prior to his work in
the City Attorneys office, Mr. Friedman managed
telecommunications law and policy matters in-house at two
telecommunications companies.
Mr. Friedman has spent much of his career as a dedicated
shareholders rights advocate. Valeant believes that
Mr. Friedman will bring to the Company Board immense
corporate governance expertise, experience in issues affecting
public companies and their shareholders, and experience in
evaluating contested and transformative business combinations,
in addition to his broader commercial and legal experience.
Mr. Richard H. Koppes.
Mr. Koppes
was appointed to the Board of Directors of NutraCea in April
2011. Mr. Koppes served on the Board of Directors of VPI
from 2002 until its merger with Biovail Corporation (upon
consummation of the merger, Biovail Corporation changed its name
to Valeant) in September 2010. Mr. Koppes is currently a
Corporate Governance Fellow at the Stanford University School of
Law, running the Stanford Institutional Investor Forum and
Stanfords Fiduciary College. From 1996 to December 2009,
he was Of Counsel to the law firm of Jones Day LLP. From May
1986 through July 1996, Mr. Koppes held several positions
with the California Public Employees Retirement System,
including General Counsel, Interim Chief Executive Officer and
Deputy Executive Officer. He also founded the National
Association of Public Pension Attorneys and has served as its
Administrator for the past nine years. He was also on the Board
of the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance
Professionals, and is currently serving on the Boards of
Directors of the Investor Research Responsibility Center
Institute and the National Association of Corporate Directors.
Mr. Koppes served as a director of Apria Healthcare Group
Inc until October 2008. In October 2007, Mr. Koppes was
presented with the National Association of Corporate
Directors Lifetime Achievement award (its highest honor)
for his contributions to corporate governance.
Valeant believes that Mr. Koppes will bring to the Company
Board outstanding and nationally recognized expertise in
corporate governance, expertise in establishing, maintaining and
monitoring standards and policies for ethics, business practices
and compliance, and vast knowledge of the workings of public
corporations and financial institutions, particularly in the
healthcare and pharmaceutical industries and including his
experience gained as a board member of VPI prior to its merger
with Biovail Corporation.
Mr. Lawrence N.
Kugelman.
Mr. Kugelman is a healthcare
consultant and private investor. Mr. Kugelman has served on
the Board of Directors of Coventry Health Care, Inc., a managed
care organization (Chairman of Audit Committee), since August
1992 and was a director of LabOne, Inc. in 2005.
Mr. Kugelman served on the Board of Directors of VPI from
October 2002 until its merger with Biovail Corporation (upon
consummation of the merger, Biovail Corporation changed its name
to Valeant) in September 2010, and on the Board of Directors of
AccentCare, Inc. from 2003 to 2010. From December 1995 through
October 1996, Mr. Kugelman was President and Chief
Executive Officer and a director of Coventry Health Care, Inc.
From 1980 through 1992, he served as a Chief Executive Officer
of several HMOs and managed healthcare organizations in the
United States.
Valeant believes that Mr. Kugelman will bring to the
Company Board the benefits of more than 26 years of
executive experience in managed care. His financial literacy and
specific expertise in the managed care and pharmaceutical
industries as was evidenced to the Valeant Board in
Mr. Kugelmans role as a board member of VPI prior to
its merger with Biovail Corporation, and leaves him well
positioned to contribute to the Company Boards
understanding of the competitive challenges that the Company
faces, including the impact of the impending generic competition
upon the Companys products PROVIGIL and NUVIGIL.
13
Mr. Anders
Lönner.
Mr. Lönner served on the
Board of Directors of VPI from 2009 until its merger with
Biovail Corporation (upon consummation of the merger, Biovail
Corporation changed its name to Valeant) in September 2010.
Since 1999, he has been the Group President and Chief Executive
Officer of Meda AB. Prior to joining Meda AB,
Mr. Lönner served as the Vice President, Nordic region
of Astra, Chief Executive Officer of Karo Bio AB and Chairman of
the Pharmaceutical Industry Association in Sweden. He has a
masters degree in business administration from the
University of Lund.
Valeant believes that Mr. Lönner will bring to the
Company Board extensive international experience including as
the chief executive officer of a public company in the
pharmaceutical industry and as a board member of VPI prior to
its merger with Biovail Corporation, and particular expertise in
the European pharmaceutical market, evaluation of pharmaceutical
pipelines, the depth and speed of commercial erosion resulting
from patent cliffs and transformative business combinations. His
demonstrated leadership capability and extensive knowledge of
complex financial and operational issues facing large
organizations, his understanding of operations and financial
strategy in challenging environments and his insight into
international operations and international perspective of our
industry qualify him to be a member of the Company Board.
Dr. John H. McArthur.
Dr. McArthur
was Dean of the Faculty of Harvard Business School from 1980
through 1995. Since then, he has held the positions of Professor
of Business Administration Emeritus and Dean Emeritus. He was a
member of the Schools faculty from 1962, where he taught
courses in corporate finance and related fields in several
Harvard Business School programs while also engaging in research
and course development in Europe and North America. From 1995 to
2005 he served as Senior Advisor to the President of The World
Bank. He is currently Chair of the Asia Pacific Foundation of
Canada. Dr. McArthur earned the Bachelor of Commerce degree
in Forestry from the University of British Columbia in 1957. At
the Harvard Business School, he completed the MBA degree in 1959
and earned a doctorate there in business administration in 1963.
Dr. McArthur has held numerous corporate directorships,
committee memberships, and consulting posts in business,
government, education and health care organizations around the
world, including HCA Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, The Brigham and
Womens Hospital and Partners HealthCare System, Inc.
Valeant believes that Mr. McArthur will bring to the
Company Board the benefits of his several decades of research
and teaching in fields including corporate finance and his
outstanding reputation and practical experience as a corporate
director (as recognized by the National Association for
Corporate Directors), particularly in the healthcare and
pharmaceutical industries, including his experience in dealing
with the depth and speed of commercial erosion resulting from
patent cliffs and transformative business combinations.
Mr. Thomas G. Plaskett.
Mr. Plaskett
has served as Chairman of Fox Run Capital Associates (a private
consulting firm) since 1999, and is a corporate director and a
business consultant. He was an independent director of Alcon,
Inc. from 2003 to April 2011 and Chair of the Audit Committee,
and currently is a director of Signet Jewelers Limited.
Mr. Plaskett is also currently a director of RadioShack
Corporation and member of its Audit and Compliance Committee and
Corporate Governance Committee. He was Chairman of the Board of
Platinum Research Organization, Inc. from 2006 to 2008.
Valeant believes that Mr. Plaskett will bring to the
Company Board broad general management skills gained in a
variety of industries including in the healthcare industry and a
variety of consumer industries and considerable experience with
transformative business combinations, including through his
representation of minority shareholders as lead independent
director of Alcon, Inc. during its acquisition by Novartis AG,
and knowledge of governance and audit practices.
Dr. Blair H. Sheppard.
Dr. Sheppard
has served as the Dean of Fuqua School of Business at Duke
University since July 2007. Dr. Sheppard is also the Chair
of the Board of Directors of Duke Corporate Education, a company
that he founded in 2000 and at which he previously served as the
Chief Executive Officer. Prior to Duke Corporate Education,
Dr. Sheppard was the Senior Associate Dean of Fuqua School
of Business, where he played a leading role in the creation of
two innovative management education programs.
Valeant believes that Dr. Sheppard will bring to the
Company Board the benefits of his wide-ranging experience
working with leading executives, including executives of a
number of leading healthcare and
14
pharmaceutical companies, as a consultant and teacher in the
areas of leadership, corporate strategy, negotiation,
organizational relationships and organization design.
Compensation
of the Companys Directors
Valeant has agreed to pay each Nominee $50,000 for agreeing to
serve as a Nominee. If elected to the Company Board, the
Nominees will not receive any form of compensation or
indemnification from Valeant for their service as directors of
the Company. They will, however, receive whatever compensation
for directors the Company Board has established unless and until
the Company Board determines to change such compensation. The
following discussion summarizes the Companys compensation
of directors based solely on the Companys proxy statement
on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on March 25, 2011.
2010
NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTOR COMPENSATION TABLE
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|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Change
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
in Pension
|
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|
|
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|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
Value and
|
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|
|
Fees
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
Nonqualified
|
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|
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Earned or
|
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|
|
|
|
Non-Equity
|
|
Deferred
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Paid in
|
|
Stock
|
|
Option
|
|
Incentive Plan
|
|
Compensation
|
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All Other
|
|
|
|
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Cash
|
|
Awards
|
|
Awards
|
|
Compensation
|
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Earnings
|
|
Compensation
|
|
Total
|
Name
|
|
($)(1)
|
|
($)
|
|
($)(2)
|
|
($)
|
|
($)
|
|
($)
|
|
($)
|
|
William P. Egan
|
|
$
|
129,000
|
|
|
|
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|
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$
|
335,400
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
464,400
|
|
Martyn D. Greenacre
|
|
$
|
126,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
335,400
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
446,400
|
|
Charles J. Homcy, M.D.
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
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Vaughn M. Kailian
|
|
$
|
122,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
335,400
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
457,400
|
|
Kevin E. Moley
|
|
$
|
109,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
335,400
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
444,400
|
|
Charles A. Sanders, M.D.
|
|
$
|
89,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
335,400
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
424,400
|
|
Gail R. Wilensky, Ph.D.
|
|
$
|
105,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
335,400
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
440,400
|
|
Dennis L. Winger
|
|
$
|
124,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
335,400
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
459,400
|
|
|
|
|
(1)
|
|
Consists of the amounts described below under Cash
Compensation. With respect to Mr. Egan, includes
$20,000 paid for service as Presiding Director of the Company
Board. With respect to Mr. Greenacre, includes $17,000 paid
for service as a committee chairperson of the Corporate
Governance and Nominating Committee. With respect to
Dr. Sanders, includes $17,000 paid for service as a
committee chairperson of the Stock Option and Compensation
Committee. With respect to Mr. Winger, includes $30,000
paid for service as the committee chairperson of the Audit
Committee. During 2010, Dr. Sanders took an unpaid medical
leave from his duties. His fees earned in cash are therefore
lower than that of the other non-employee directors. On
April 11, 2011, the Company announced that Dr. Sanders
retired from the Company Board effective April 8, 2011.
Dr. Homcy was not a member of the Company Board in 2010.
|
|
(2)
|
|
On May 20, 2010, each of the non-employee directors
received a grant of stock options to purchase 15,000 shares
of Common Stock at an exercise price of $59.18 per share, which
were immediately exercisable. The fair value of each option
award granted to the non-employee directors in 2010 was
$335,400, as calculated under applicable accounting guidance,
excluding the effect of certain forfeiture assumptions. See
Note 16 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included
in the Cephalon Annual Report on
Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2010 for a discussion of
the assumptions used in the calculation. The total number of
stock option awards outstanding that were granted to
non-employee directors as of December 31, 2010 was 630,000.
|
15
Compensation
for Service as a Non-Employee Director
The Company compensates its non-employee directors through a mix
of cash compensation and stock option grants. The components of
the non-employee directors compensation are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
Cash Compensation:
|
Board Service Annual Retainer
|
|
$
|
55,000
|
|
Per Board Meeting Fees
|
|
|
|
|
Attendance in person
|
|
$
|
5,000/mtg.
|
|
Attendance by telephone
|
|
$
|
2,000/mtg.
|
|
Committee Service Fees
|
|
|
|
|
Audit Committee Chair Annual Retainer
|
|
$
|
30,000
|
|
Stock Option and Compensation Committee
Chair Annual Retainer
|
|
$
|
17,000
|
|
Corporate Governance and Nominating
Committee Chair Annual Retainer
|
|
$
|
17,000
|
|
Committee Member Annual Retainer
|
|
$
|
15,000
|
|
Presiding Director Annual Retainer
|
|
$
|
20,000
|
|
Stock Option Compensation:
|
Initial Grant (upon first election or
appointment to the Company Board)
|
|
|
5,000 shares
|
|
Annual Grant (upon the date of the
Annual Meeting)
|
|
|
5,000 shares
|
|
Under the Companys 2011 Equity Compensation Plan
(previously known as the Companys 2004 Equity Compensation
Plan), the initial grant of 15,000 stock options to a
non-employee director is made at the time of the earlier to
occur of such directors appointment as a director by the
Company Board or first election to the Company Board by
stockholders. This initial award generally vests over a
four-year period, with 25% becoming exercisable on each
anniversary of the grant date. Upon the date of re-election to
the Company Board at the 2011 annual meeting, a non-employee
director will receive an annual grant of 15,000 stock options
that are fully exercisable on the date of grant. The Company
Board also may grant options to non-employee directors in
addition to the automatic grants described above. Stock options
granted to non-employee directors have a ten-year term and are
granted with an exercise price equal to the fair market value of
our Common Stock on the date of grant.
In May 2010, all non-employee directors each received an annual
grant of stock options to purchase 15,000 shares of Common
Stock at an exercise price of $59.18 per share, which were
immediately exercisable.
The Company also reimburses directors for travel expenses
incurred in connection with attending Company Board, committee
and stockholder meetings and for other Company business-related
expenses. The Company does not provide retirement benefits or
other perquisites to non-employee directors under any current
program.
Other than as described herein, Valeant is not aware of any
arrangements pursuant to which non-employee directors of the
Company were to be compensated for services as directors during
the Companys last fiscal year.
Except as otherwise set forth herein, since January 1,
2010, none of the Nominees nor any of their
associates (as defined in
Rule 14a-1(a)
promulgated by the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended (the Exchange Act)) has received
any cash compensation, cash bonuses, deferred compensation,
compensation pursuant to plans or other compensation from, or in
respect of services rendered on behalf of, the Company, or is
subject to any arrangement described in Item 402 of
Regulation S-K
(Regulation S-K)
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Arrangements
between Valeant and the Nominees
Pursuant to the Nomination Agreement with each of the Nominees,
Valeant has agreed to pay each Nominee a fee of $50,000 for
serving as a nominee and to reimburse each Nominee for his or
her reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of his or
her responsibilities as a nominee and to pay the reasonable
legal fees and expenses of a single independent legal counsel
selected collectively by and acting for the Nominees as
nominees. Valeant has also agreed, subject to certain conditions
set forth in the Nomination Agreement, to indemnify, defend and
hold harmless each Nominee from and against any and all losses,
claims, damages, liabilities, judgments, costs and expenses
16
(including reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel and
costs of investigation) to which such Nominee may become subject
or which such Nominee may incur in connection with being made,
or threatened with being made, a party or witness (or in any
other capacity) to any proceeding at law or in equity or before
any governmental agency or board or any other body whatsoever
(whether arbitral, civil, criminal, trial, appeal,
administrative, formal, informal, investigative or other),
arising out of or based upon his or her being a nominee for
election to the Company Board. Pursuant to the Nomination
Agreement, each Nominee also has agreed, if elected, to serve as
a director and to act in the best interests of the Company and
its stockholders and to exercise his or her independent judgment
in accordance with his or her fiduciary duties in all matters
that come before the Company Board. Other than the Nomination
Agreement, there is no arrangement or understanding between any
Nominee and any other person or persons, including Valeant,
pursuant to which any Nominee was selected as a nominee for
election to the Company Board, although it is expected that the
Nominees, if elected and subject to their fiduciary duties and
if they constitute a majority of the Company Board, will remove
the Companys poison pill and approve the Proposed Offer
under Section 203 of the DGCL. Furthermore, we believe that
the Nominees will, if the Nominees elected constitute a majority
of the Company Board, permit us to conduct due diligence, which
could result in a modest increase to any ultimate offer price,
should the results of such exercise demonstrate greater value
than is supported by the Companys public filings. While we
fully expect that such due diligence will result in our being in
a position to modestly increase our offer price, it is possible
that we could reduce our offer price if the Company takes any
further actions that reduce its value to us and/or if the due
diligence reveals material undisclosed information that
negatively impacts the Company. Although we plan, as discussed
above, to propose entering into a merger agreement including a
top-up
option, we have received no commitment from the Nominees with
respect to a merger agreement, and any decision would be subject
to the exercise of their fiduciary duties. A form of Nomination
Agreement is included in Annex C of this Consent Statement.
Additional
Information Concerning the Nominees
The Nominees have furnished additional miscellaneous information
required by the SEC rules and applicable law, which information
is located in Annex A of this Consent Statement.
VALEANT IS
ASKING YOU TO CONSENT TO THE ELECTION OF ALL NOMINEES.
The Nominees are highly qualified, experienced and
well-respected members of the business community. The only
commitment that each of the Nominees has given to Valeant, and
the only commitment that Valeant has sought from the Nominees,
is that he or she will, if elected, serve as a director, act in
the best interests of the Company and its stockholders and
exercise his or her independent judgment in accordance with his
or her fiduciary duties in all matters that come before the
Company Board. Support of the Proposals by holders of at least a
majority of the then outstanding Common Stock will send a strong
signal to the Nominees that the Companys stockholders want
them to remove the impediments to accepting the Proposed Offer
should the newly elected directors deem it appropriate in the
exercise of their fiduciary duties to do so. We do not believe
the election of the Nominees to the Company Board will preclude
their consideration of any competing bids or proposals for the
acquisition of the Company.
VOTING
SECURITIES
According to the Companys public filings, the shares of
Common Stock constitute the only class of outstanding voting
securities of the Company, and as of April 8, 2011, there
were 76,151,414 shares of Common Stock outstanding
(excluding treasury shares). Each share of Common Stock is
entitled to one vote, and only record holders of Common Stock
are entitled to execute consents. The Companys
stockholders do not have cumulative voting rights.
PROCEDURAL
INSTRUCTIONS
The Bylaw Restoration Proposal.
You may
consent to the Bylaw Restoration Proposal by marking the box
CONSENT on the enclosed GOLD consent card. You may
also withhold your consent to the Bylaw Restoration Proposal by
marking the proper box on the consent card. You may abstain from
consenting to the Bylaw Restoration Proposal by marking the
proper box on the consent card. If the GOLD consent card is
signed and dated, but no direction is given with respect to the
Bylaw Restoration Proposal, you will be deemed to consent to the
Bylaw Restoration Proposal.
17
VALEANT
URGES YOU TO CONSENT TO THE BYLAW RESTORATION
PROPOSAL.
The Removal Proposal.
You may consent to the
Removal Proposal by marking the box CONSENT on the
enclosed GOLD consent card. You may also withhold your consent
for the Removal Proposal by marking the proper box on the
enclosed GOLD consent card. You may abstain from consenting to
the Removal Proposal by marking the proper box on the consent
card. You may withhold consent to the removal of any one or more
members of the Company Board by marking the box
CONSENT and writing such persons name in the
space provided on the GOLD consent card. If the GOLD consent
card is signed and dated, but no direction is given with respect
to the Removal Proposal, you will be deemed to consent to the
Removal Proposal.
VALEANT
URGES YOU TO CONSENT TO THE REMOVAL PROPOSAL.
Election of Nominees.
You may consent to the
election of all the Nominees by marking the CONSENT
box on the enclosed GOLD consent card. You may also withhold
your consent for the entire slate of Nominees by marking the
proper box on the enclosed GOLD consent card. You may also
withhold your consent from any one or more of the Nominees by
marking the box CONSENT and writing the name of any
Nominee you wish to withhold your consent from in the space
provided on the GOLD consent card. You may abstain from the
election of the Nominees by marking the proper box on the
consent card. If the GOLD consent card is signed and dated, but
no direction is given with respect to the election of Nominees,
you will be deemed to consent to the election of all Nominees.
VALEANT
URGES YOU TO CONSENT TO THE ELECTION PROPOSAL.
Although Valeant has no reason to believe that any of the
Nominees will be unable or unwilling to serve as directors, if
any of the Nominees is not available for election, then the
remaining Nominees that are elected intend, upon becoming
directors, to act to fill any vacancy resulting from such unable
or unwilling Nominee not being elected.
In addition, depending upon the number of directors of the
Company removed pursuant to the Removal Proposal and the number
of Nominees elected pursuant to the Election Proposal, one or
more vacancies may exist on the Company Board. If a vacancy
exists, the Company Board would determine whether to reduce the
size of the Company Board or appoint additional directors to
fill that vacancy. That determination would require the approval
of a majority of the directors.
Revocation of Written Consents.
An executed
consent card may be revoked at any time by marking, dating,
signing and delivering a written revocation before the time that
the action authorized by the executed consent becomes effective.
Revocations may only be made by the record holder that granted
such consent. A revocation may be in any written form validly
signed by the record holder as long as it clearly states that
the consent previously given is revoked or no longer effective.
The delivery of a subsequently dated consent card that is
properly completed will constitute a revocation of any earlier
consent. The revocation may be delivered either to Valeant, in
care of Georgeson Inc., 199 Water Street
26th Floor, New York, NY 10038, or to the principal
executive offices of the Company. Although a revocation is
effective if delivered to the Company, Valeant requests that
either the original or photostatic copies of all revocations of
consents be mailed or delivered to Valeant in care of Georgeson
Inc., 199 Water Street 26th Floor, New York, NY
10038, so that Valeant will be aware of all revocations and can
more accurately determine if and when sufficient unrevoked
consents to the actions described in this Consent Statement have
been received.
YOUR CONSENT IS IMPORTANT.
Your CONSENT to the Bylaw Restoration Proposal, the Removal
Proposal and the Election Proposal will send a strong signal to
the Nominees that the Companys stockholders want them to
remove the impediments to accepting the Proposed Offer should
the newly elected directors deem it appropriate in the exercise
of their fiduciary duties to do so.
18
CONSENT
PROCEDURES
Section 228 of the DGCL provides that, absent a contrary
provision in a Delaware corporations certificate of
incorporation, any action that is required or permitted to be
taken at a meeting of the corporations stockholders may be
taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a
vote, if consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken,
are signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less
than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to
authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares
entitled to vote thereon were present and voted, and such
consents are properly delivered to the corporation by delivery
to its registered office in Delaware, its principal place of
business or an officer or agent of the corporation having
custody of the book in which proceedings of meetings of
stockholders are recorded. The Companys Restated
Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, does not contain any
such contrary provision.
On April 5, 2011, the Company announced that the Company
Board had fixed April 8, 2011 (the Record Date)
as the record date for the determination of the Companys
stockholders who are entitled to execute, withhold or revoke
consents relating to this consent solicitation. On April 6,
2011, we provided written notice to the secretary of the Company
acknowledging that Record Date.
For the Proposals to be effective, properly completed and
unrevoked written consents to the Proposals from the holders of
record as of the close of business on the Record Date of a
majority of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding must be
delivered to the Company, under Delaware law and the
Companys Bylaws, within 60 days of the earliest dated
written consent delivered to the Company.
However, we have
set May 12, 2011 as the deadline for submission of written
consents, but we reserve the right to extend such deadline.
Effectively, this means that you have until May 12, 2011 to
consent to the Proposals. WE URGE YOU TO ACT PROMPTLY TO ENSURE
THAT YOUR CONSENT WILL COUNT.
We reserve the right to submit
consents to the Company at any time within 60 days of the
earliest dated written consent delivered to the Company. See
CONSENT PROCEDURES for additional information
regarding such procedures.
If the Proposals become effective as a result of this consent
solicitation by less than unanimous written consent, prompt
notice of the adoption of the Proposals will be given under
Section 228(e) of the DGCL to stockholders who have not
executed written consents. All stockholders will be notified as
promptly as possible by press release of the results of the
solicitation.
APPRAISAL
RIGHTS
The Companys stockholders are not entitled to appraisal
rights under Delaware law in connection with the Proposals or
this Consent Statement.
OTHER
INFORMATION
Participants
in the Solicitation and Solicitation of Written
Consents
Valeant is a Canadian corporation with its principal executive
offices located at 7150 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario,
Canada, L5N 8M5. The telephone number of Valeants
principal executive offices is (905)
286-3000.
Valeant is a multinational, specialty pharmaceutical company
that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of
pharmaceutical products. Valeants specialty pharmaceutical
and
over-the-counter
(OTC) products are marketed under brand names and
are sold in the United States, Canada, Australia and New
Zealand, where Valeant focuses most of its efforts on products
in the dermatology and neurology therapeutic classes. Valeant
also has branded generic and OTC operations in Europe and Latin
America which focus on pharmaceutical products that are
bioequivalent to original products and are marketed under
company brand names. More information about Valeant can be found
at www.valeant.com.
ALL DOCUMENTS FILED BY VALEANT WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH
THE SOLICITATION OF WRITTEN CONSENTS FROM CEPHALON STOCKHOLDERS
ARE AVAILABLE AT THE WEB SITE MAINTAINED BY THE SEC AT
WWW.SEC.GOV OR FROM VALEANTS WEBSITE AT WWW.VALEANT.COM
UNDER THE TAB INVESTOR RELATIONS AND THEN UNDER THE
HEADING SEC
19
FILINGS, OR, FOR FREE, BY DIRECTING A REQUEST TO VALEANT,
7545 IRVINE CENTER DRIVE, SUITE 100, IRVINE, CALIFORNIA,
92618, ATTENTION: CORPORATE SECRETARY. ALL INVESTORS AND
SECURITY HOLDERS OF CEPHALON ARE URGED TO READ THIS CONSENT
STATEMENT AND ANY OTHER SUCH DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC BY
VALEANT CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY, BECAUSE THEY WILL
CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
Except as otherwise disclosed in this Consent Statement, since
January 1, 2010, there has not been and there is no
currently proposed transaction or series of transactions in
which the Company was or is to be a participant and the amount
involved exceeds $120,000, and in which Valeant or any associate
of Valeant had or will have any direct or indirect material
interest.
Except as set forth in this Consent Statement, no associate of
Valeant owns beneficially, either directly or indirectly, any
securities of the Company.
Except as otherwise disclosed in this Consent Statement, Valeant
does not have a substantial interest, either direct or indirect,
by security holdings or otherwise, in the matters to be acted
upon pursuant to this Consent Statement.
Except as set forth in this Consent Statement, Valeant:
(i) does not own any class of securities of the Company of
record that it does not own beneficially; (ii) does not own
beneficially, either directly or indirectly, any class of
securities of the Company or of any subsidiary of the Company;
(iii) has not purchased or sold any securities of the
Company within the past two years; and (iv) is not or was
not within the past year, a party to any contract, arrangement
or understanding with any person with respect to any securities
of the Company, including, but not limited to, joint ventures,
loan or option arrangements, puts or calls, guarantees against
loss or guarantees of profit, division of losses or profits, or
the giving or withholding of written consents.
As of the date of this Consent Statement, Vax Holdings, Inc., a
newly formed and wholly-owned subsidiary of Valeant, owns of
record and beneficially 100 shares of Common Stock which
were transferred to it by Valeant on March 25, 2011.
Valeant beneficially owns an additional 1,034,808 shares of
Common Stock and 203 unexpired option contracts each
representing 100 shares of Common Stock. Annex B sets
forth all transactions in securities of the Company by Valeant
in the past two years.
Solicitation of consent by or on behalf of Valeant and other
participants in this solicitation may be conducted by mail,
facsimile, courier services, telephone, telegraph, the Internet,
e-mail,
newspapers, advertisements and other publications of general
distribution and in person. Valeant may, from time to time,
request that certain of its senior management employees assist
with the solicitation as part of his or her duties in the normal
course of his or her employment without any additional
compensation for the solicitation. Information regarding
directors, officers and employees of Valeant who may assist in
the solicitation is included in Annex B of this Consent
Statement.
Valeant has retained Georgeson Inc. as information agent for the
Proposed Offer and consent solicitation services for an initial
retainer of $25,000. Under its engagement letter, Georgeson Inc.
will also receive $75,000 for its services as information agent
in the Proposed Offer and $150,000 for its services as consent
solicitor. In addition, if Georgeson Inc. is requested to make
calls to or receive calls from individual retail investors,
Valeant will pay Georgeson Inc. $5.00 per such call. Valeant has
agreed to pay, advance funds for or reimburse Georgeson Inc. for
its reasonable expenses and fees and, subject to certain terms
and conditions, to indemnify Georgeson Inc. against all claims,
liabilities, losses, damages and expenses arising out or
relating to the rendering of such services by Georgeson Inc. or
related services requested by Valeant. It is anticipated that
approximately 15 people will be employed by Georgeson Inc.
in connection with the solicitation of written consents for the
Proposals.
Valeant may reimburse banks, brokerage houses and other
custodians, nominees and fiduciaries for their reasonable
out-of-pocket
expenses incurred in connection with forwarding, at
Valeants request, all materials related to the consent
solicitation to the beneficial owners of shares of Common Stock
they hold of record.
Valeant will pay all costs of the solicitation of consent and
will not seek reimbursement of those costs from the Company.
Valeant estimates the total amount to be spent in furtherance of
or in connection with the solicitation of security holders of
the Company to be approximately $550,000. Valeants
aggregate expenditures to date in furtherance of or in
connection with the solicitation of security holders of the
Company are less than $200,000.
20
Neither Valeant nor any associate of Valeant has any arrangement
or understanding with any person with respect to any future
employment by the Company or its affiliates, or with respect to
any future transactions to which the Company or its affiliates
will or may be a party.
Deadline
for Submitting Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations
for the Next Annual Meeting
According to the Companys definitive proxy statement on
Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on March 25, 2011 in
relation to the 2011 annual meeting, proposals intended to be
presented at the 2012 annual meeting of stockholders must be
received by the Company at its principal executive offices no
later than November 24, 2011 for inclusion in the
Companys proxy statement and form of proxy relating to the
2012 annual meeting. Stockholders of record who do not submit
proposals for inclusion in the proxy statement but who intend to
submit a proposal at the 2012 annual meeting of stockholders,
and stockholders of record who intend to submit nominations for
directors at the meeting, must provide written notice. Such
notice should be addressed to the Secretary of the Company and
received at the Companys principal executive offices not
earlier than January 11, 2012 and not later than
February 10, 2012, and must satisfy certain other
requirements specified in the Companys bylaws.
Security
Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management of the
Company
Information regarding security ownership of certain beneficial
owners and management of the Company is included in Annex D
of this Consent Statement.
21
ANNEX A
MISCELLANEOUS
INFORMATION CONCERNING THE NOMINEES
The business address of each Nominee is as follows:
Santo J. Costa
2500 Wachovia Capital Center
P.O. Box 2611
Raleigh, North Carolina 27602
Abe M. Friedman
c/o Said Kordestani
Farella, Braun & Martel
235 Montgomery Street, 17th Floor
San Francisco, California 94104
Richard H. Koppes
7248 South Land Park Drive, #102
Sacramento, California 95831
Lawrence N. Kugelman
24 Venezia
Newport Coast, California 92657
Anders Lönner
Meda AB
Pipers Väg 2, 170 73
Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
John H. McArthur
Soldiers Field, Cumnock House
Boston, Massachusetts 02163
Thomas G. Plaskett
3911 Fox Glen Drive
Irving, Texas 75062
Blair H. Sheppard
Duke University
100 Fuqua Drive
Durham, North Carolina 27708
None of the Nominees holds a position or office with the
Company, and none of the Nominees has ever served on the Company
Board.
Except as set forth below, to Valeants knowledge, none of
the Nominees: (i) owns any class of securities of the
Company of record that he or she does not own beneficially;
(ii) owns beneficially, either directly or indirectly, any
class of securities of the Company or of any subsidiary of the
Company; (iii) has purchased or sold any securities of the
Company within the past two years; or (iv) is or was within
the past year, a party to any contract, arrangement or
understanding with any person with respect to any securities of
the Company, including, but not limited to, joint ventures, loan
or option arrangements, puts or calls, guarantees against loss
or guarantees of profit, division of losses or profits, or the
giving or withholding of proxies.
Except as otherwise set forth in the Consent Statement, no
associate of any Nominee owns beneficially, either directly or
indirectly, any securities of the Company.
None of the Nominees or any associates of the Nominees has any
arrangement or understanding with any person with respect to any
future employment by the Company or its affiliates
(as defined in
Rule 12b-2
A-1
promulgated by the SEC under the Exchange Act), or with respect
to any future transactions to which the Company or its
affiliates will or may be a party.
Except inasmuch as the Nomination Agreement provides that a
Nominee agrees to stand for election to the Company Board if
nominated by Valeant and to serve as a director if elected, and
each Nominee has acknowledged that he or she will, if elected,
act in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders
and will exercise his or her independent judgment in accordance
with his or her fiduciary duties in all matters that come before
the Company Board, other than as described herein, none of the
Nominees has a substantial interest, either direct or indirect,
by security holdings or otherwise, in the matters to be acted
upon pursuant to the Consent Statement.
Other than as described in the Consent Statement, there are no
blood, marriage or adoption relationships (other than
relationships more remote than first cousin) between any of the
Nominees, or between any of the Nominees and any director or
executive officer of the Company or, to the knowledge of Valeant
as of the date of this Consent Statement, any nominee to become
a director or executive officer of the Company.
There are no material proceedings to which any of the Nominees
or any of their associates is a party adverse to the Company or
any of its subsidiaries, or proceedings in which such Nominees
or any of their associates have a material interest adverse to
the Company or any of its subsidiaries.
Other than as described herein, since January 1, 2010,
there has not been and there is no currently proposed
transaction or series of transactions, in which the Company was
or is to be a participant and the amount involved exceeds
$120,000, and in which any Nominee or any associate of any
Nominee or any immediate family member of any Nominee or any
such associate had or will have any direct or indirect material
interest.
Other than as described herein, none of the Nominees has been
involved in any legal proceedings during the past five years
described in Item 401(f) of
Regulation S-K
that is required to be disclosed as material for purposes of an
evaluation of the ability or integrity of the Nominee.
None of the Nominees has failed to file with the SEC on a timely
basis any report on Form 3, Form 4 or Form 5 or
any amendment thereto required to be filed by such Nominee under
Section 16 of the Exchange Act with respect to the Company.
A-2
ANNEX B
PERSONS
WHO MAY BE PARTICIPANTS IN THE SOLICITATION OF WRITTEN
CONSENTS
Set forth below are the names, principal business addresses and
principal occupations or employment of the directors, officers,
employees and other representatives of Valeant who may assist in
Valeants solicitation of written consents in connection
with the Consent Statement, and the name, principal business and
address of any corporation or other organization in which their
employment is carried on. Information with respect to the
Nominees is included in the section titled THE
NOMINEES and Annex A of the Consent Statement. To the
extent any of these individuals assists Valeant in its
solicitation of written consents, these persons may be deemed
participants under SEC rules.
Directors,
Officers and Employees of Valeant
The name and principal occupation or employment of each
director, officer and employee of Valeant who may be deemed a
participant is set forth below. For each person, the
principal business address is care of Valeant, 7150 Mississauga
Road, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, L5N 8M5. Unless otherwise
indicated, each occupation set forth opposite an
individuals name refers to employment with Valeant.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Present Position with Valeant or
|
|
Address of Principal Employer
|
Name
|
|
Other Principal Occupation or Employment
|
|
(only if other than Valeant)
|
|
J. Michael Pearson
|
|
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
|
|
|
Laurie W. Little
|
|
Vice President Investor Relations
|
|
|
Interests
of Participants and Other Potential Participants
As of the date of this Consent Statement, Vax Holdings, Inc., a
newly formed and wholly-owned subsidiary of Valeant, owns of
record and beneficially 100 shares of Common Stock which
were transferred to it by Valeant on March 25, 2011.
Valeant beneficially owns an additional 1,034,808 shares of
Common Stock, which it acquired in the following ordinary
brokerage transactions:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number of Shares
|
|
Average Purchase Price
|
Date of Purchase
|
|
Purchased
|
|
per Share
|
|
March 25, 2011
|
|
|
316,000
|
*
|
|
$
|
57.90
|
|
March 28, 2011
|
|
|
376,433
|
|
|
$
|
57.64
|
|
March 29, 2011
|
|
|
342,475
|
|
|
$
|
58.41
|
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
Valeant transferred 100 of these shares purchased by it on
March 25, 2011 to Vax Holdings, Inc.
|
As of the date of this Consent Statement, Valeant and its
subsidiaries beneficially own 203 unexpired option contracts
each representing 100 Shares. Valeant and its subsidiaries
acquired these options in the following ordinary brokerage
transactions:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number of Options
|
|
Purchase Price
|
|
|
Date of Purchase
|
|
Purchased
|
|
per Option
|
|
Strike Price
|
|
March 29, 2011
|
|
|
2
|
|
|
$
|
1.45
|
|
|
$
|
65.00
|
|
March 29, 2011
|
|
|
200
|
|
|
$
|
0.65
|
|
|
$
|
70.00
|
|
March 29, 2011
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
$
|
1.40
|
|
|
$
|
60.00
|
|
To Valeants knowledge, with respect to the individuals
listed above under Directors, Officers and Employees of
Valeant in this Annex B, no such person:
(i) owns any class of securities of the Company of record
that it does not own beneficially; (ii) owns beneficially,
either directly or indirectly, any class of securities of the
Company or of any subsidiary of the Company; (iii) has
purchased or sold any securities of the Company within the past
two years; or (iv) is, or was within the past year, a party
to any contract, arrangement or understanding with any person
with respect to any securities of the Company, including, but
not limited to, joint ventures, loan or option arrangements,
B-1
puts or calls, guarantees against loss or guarantees of profit,
division of losses or profits, or the giving or withholding of
written consents.
Except as otherwise set forth in the Consent Statement, no
associate of any individual listed above under Directors,
Officers and Employees of Valeant in this Annex B
owns beneficially, either directly or indirectly, any securities
of the Company.
No individual listed above under Directors, Officers and
Employees of Valeant in this Annex B nor any
associate of any such individual has any arrangement or
understanding with any person with respect to any future
employment by the Company or its affiliates, or with respect to
any future transactions to which the Company or its affiliates
will or may be a party.
No individual listed above under Directors, Officers and
Employees of Valeant in this Annex B has a
substantial interest, direct or indirect, by security holdings
or otherwise, in the matters to be acted upon pursuant to the
Consent Statement.
Except as otherwise set forth in the Consent Statement, since
January 1, 2010, there has not been and there is no
currently proposed transaction or series of transactions in
which the Company was or is to be a participant and the amount
involved exceeds $120,000, and in which any individual listed
above under Directors, Officers and Employees of
Valeant in this Annex B or any associate of any such
individual or any immediate family member of any such individual
or any such associate had or will have any direct or indirect
material interest.
B-2
ANNEX C
FORM OF
NOMINATION AGREEMENT
Dear [Nominee]:
This letter agreement, dated [ ], 2011 (this
Agreement), is with reference to your agreement to
become a nominee (a Nominee) of Valeant
Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., a company incorporated
under the laws of Canada (Valeant), for election as
an independent director of Cephalon, Inc., a Delaware
corporation (Cephalon). Valeant desires to solicit
written consents of stockholders in lieu of a special meeting
(the Consent Solicitation), among other things, to
remove all members of the Board of Directors of Cephalon (the
Board) and any other person or persons (other than
the persons elected pursuant to the Consent Solicitation)
elected or appointed to the Board to fill any vacancy or
newly-created directorship, and to replace such removed
directors with the Nominees proposed by Valeant for election as
directors of Cephalon.
A.
Responsibilities of Nominee.
(a) You agree (i) to be named as a Nominee in any and
all solicitation materials prepared by Valeant in connection
with the Consent Solicitation, (ii) to provide true and
complete information concerning your background, experience,
abilities and integrity as may be requested from time to time by
Valeant (including, without limitation, all information required
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the
rules and regulations promulgated thereunder to be disclosed in
a consent solicitation statement or other materials prepared by
Valeant in connection with the Consent Solicitation
(collectively, the Consent Solicitation Statement)),
and not to omit information that may be material to an
understanding of your background, experience, abilities and
integrity, (iii) that your agreement to be a Nominee, and
the information referred to in clause (ii) of this
paragraph (a) may be disclosed by Valeant, in its Consent
Solicitation materials or otherwise, and (iv) if elected,
to serve as a director of Cephalon, and in that capacity to act
in the best interests of Cephalon and its stockholders and to
exercise your independent judgment in accordance with your
fiduciary duties in all matters that come before the Board. You
represent that the information supplied to Valeant in your
completed questionnaire, in your response to any
follow-up
questions from Valeant and any related supplement provided by
you (together, the Questionnaire) relating to your
being a Nominee is true and complete and does not omit
information that may be material to an understanding of your
background, experience, abilities and integrity. You agree that
you will promptly provide Valeant with (x) any updates to
the information you have previously supplied to Valeant in order
to satisfy your obligation under paragraph (a)(ii) of this
Section A and your representations in the Questionnaire,
and (y) such additional information as may reasonably be
requested by Valeant in connection with your nomination for
election to the Board.
(b) The parties acknowledge and agree that you are not an
employee or an agent or otherwise a representative of Valeant,
and that you are independent of, and not controlled by or acting
at the direction of, Valeant and that, if elected, you will be
acting as a director of Cephalon, on behalf of Cephalon and all
of the stockholders of Cephalon and will in no way be controlled
by or acting at the direction of Valeant. You shall have no
authority to act as an agent of Valeant and you shall not
represent the contrary to any person.
B.
Responsibilities of
Valeant.
Notwithstanding anything in this
Agreement to the contrary, Valeant is not obligated to nominate
you to the Board or to commence or complete the Consent
Solicitation.
C.
Compensation.
In consideration of your
agreement to become a Nominee and to be named in the Consent
Solicitation Statement, promptly following the date hereof,
Valeant shall pay to you a one-time payment in the amount of
fifty thousand US dollars ($50,000).
D.
Expenses.
Valeant agrees that for the
period starting from the date of this Agreement and ending at
the earlier of (x) your election to the Board (or if the
election or qualification of members to the Board is contested
on any grounds, such later date that such contest is resolved)
and (y) the date you have been notified by Valeant that it
will not commence the Consent Solicitation or has abandoned the
Consent Solicitation or will not nominate you to the Board or
that the requisite number of votes for your election to the
Board has not been obtained, Valeant will (i) promptly
reimburse you for all reasonable expenses (including first class
air travel) incurred in the performance
C-1
of your responsibilities as a Nominee, and (ii) directly
pay for the reasonable legal fees and expenses incurred by one
independent legal counsel selected collectively by and acting on
behalf of all Nominees proposed by Valeant for election as
independent directors of Cephalon (the Independent
Counsel).
E.
Indemnification.
(a) As a material inducement to you to become a Nominee,
Valeant hereby agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless you
from and against any and all losses, claims, damages,
liabilities, judgments, costs, and expenses (including
reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel and costs of
investigation) (collectively, Losses) to which you
may become subject or which you may incur in connection with
being made, or threatened with being made, a party or witness
(or in any other capacity) to any proceeding at law or in equity
or before any governmental agency or board or any other body
whatsoever (whether arbitral, civil, criminal, trial, appeal,
administrative, formal, informal, investigative or other),
arising out of or based upon your being a Nominee, except to the
extent such Loss arises or results from your willful misconduct
or any untrue statement or omission made by you or made by
Valeant in reliance upon and in conformity with information
furnished by you in writing expressly for use in any document
made available to the public; it being understood that you are
furnishing the Questionnaire expressly for use in the Consent
Solicitation Statement and other filings to be made publicly
available in connection with the Consent Solicitation.
(b) In the event of the commencement or threatened
commencement of any action in respect of which you may seek
indemnification from Valeant hereunder, you will give prompt
written notice thereof to Valeant; provided that the failure to
so provide prompt notice shall not relieve Valeant of its
indemnification obligations hereunder except to the extent that
Valeant is materially prejudiced as a result thereof. Valeant
shall timely pay all fees and disbursements of the Independent
Counsel in respect of such action; however, you shall have the
right to retain separate counsel, provided, that you shall be
responsible for the fees of such counsel and costs of such
participation unless either (i) you and Valeant mutually
agree to the retention of such counsel, or
(ii) representation of you and other Nominees by the same
counsel would be inappropriate due to actual or potential
differing interests between you and them. Valeant shall in no
event be liable for any settlement by you of any such action
effected without the prior written consent of Valeant, which
consent shall not be unreasonably withheld.
(c) Valeant shall not settle, without your prior written
consent (which you may withhold in your sole discretion), any
action in any manner that would impose any penalty, obligation
or limitation on you (other than monetary damages for which
Valeant agrees to be wholly responsible) or that would contain
any language that could reasonably be viewed as an
acknowledgement of wrongdoing on your part or otherwise as
detrimental to your reputation.
(d) Your rights to indemnification under this Agreement
shall include the right to be advanced any and all expenses
incurred in connection with any indemnifiable claim as such
expenses are incurred.
(e) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, if Valeant
has made payments to you pursuant to the indemnification and
expense reimbursement provisions hereof and you subsequently are
reimbursed by a third party therefor, you will remit such
subsequent reimbursement to Valeant.
F. General.
Notices and other
communications under this Agreement shall be in writing and
delivered by a nationally-recognized overnight courier with
tracking capability, if mailed to you, then to the address set
forth above under your name, and, if mailed to Valeant, then to
the address indicated above in the letterhead. The failure of a
party to insist upon strict adherence to any term contained
herein shall not be deemed to be a waiver of such partys
rights thereafter to insist upon strict adherence to that term
or to any other term contained herein. In the event that any one
or more provisions of this Agreement are deemed to be invalid,
illegal or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction,
then such provision(s) shall be deemed severed to the least
extent possible without affecting the validity, legality and
enforceability of the remainder of this Agreement. This
Agreement (i) shall be governed by and construed in
accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without
regard to its conflict of laws principles; (ii) contains
the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the
subject matter contained herein and may not be modified or
amended except by mutual written consent; (iii) shall inure
to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties and their
respective heirs, representatives, successors, and assigns; and
(iv) may be executed in counterparts and delivered by
facsimile signatures.
C-2
G. Most Favored Nation.
In the event
that, in connection with the Consent Solicitation, Valeant
enters into any nomination agreement with any other individual
with respect to such individual being a Nominee proposed by
Valeant for election as a director of Cephalon, and such
nomination agreement contains any term that is more favorable to
such individual than this Agreement is to you, this Agreement
shall be deemed to be amended automatically to incorporate such
more favorable term. Valeant agrees to notify you of any such
amendment.
If you are in agreement with the foregoing, please so indicate
by signing and returning one copy of this Agreement.
Very truly yours,
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc.
Name:
Title:
Accepted and agreed to:
Name:
C-3
ANNEX D
SECURITY
OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY
The information set forth in this Annex D is based solely
upon the Companys publicly available proxy statement on
Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on March 25, 2011.
Security
Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management
The following table sets forth the beneficial ownership of
Common Stock as of February 28, 2011 (except as noted) by
(i) the named executive officers and the Companys
directors, excluding Drs. Baldino and Homcy; (ii) each
person or group that is known to Valeant to be the owners of
more than five percent of the outstanding shares of the Common
Stock; and (iii) all executive officers and directors as a
group. As of February 28, 2011, there were
75,747,836 shares of Common Stock outstanding. Except as
otherwise noted, the business address of each person shown below
is 41 Moores Road, Frazer, PA 19355.
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Amount and Nature
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of Beneficial
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Percentage
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Name
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Ownership(1)(2)
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of Class(3)
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J. Kevin Buchi
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353,058
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*
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Wilco Groenhuysen
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17,292
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*
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Alain Aragues
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50,275
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*
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Gerald J. Pappert
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70,193
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*
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Lesley Russell Cooper, MB.CH.B, MRCP
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221,274
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*
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William P. Egan
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126,661
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*
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Martyn D. Greenacre
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105,200
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*
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Vaughn M. Kailian
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70,000
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*
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Kevin E. Moley
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61,000
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*
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Charles A. Sanders, M.D.
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111,000
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*
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Gail R. Wilensky, Ph.D.
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90,000
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*
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Dennis L. Winger
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90,000
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*
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Wellington Management Company, LLP(4)
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9,170,782
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12.11
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%
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75 State Street
Boston, MA 02109
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BlackRock, Inc.(5)
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8,729,500
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11.53
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%
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55 East 52nd Street
New York, NY 10055
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T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.(6)
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5,556,081
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7.34
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%
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100 E. Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
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Vanguard Specialized Funds Vanguard Healthcare
Fund(7)
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5,811,230
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7.67
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%
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100 Vanguard Blvd.
Malvern, PA 19355
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FMR LLC(8)
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7,033,457
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9.26
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%
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82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109
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The Vanguard Group, Inc.(9)
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4,320,968
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5.71
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%
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100 Vanguard Blvd.
Malvern, PA 19355
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All executive officers and directors as a group (16 persons)
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2,116,732
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2.73
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%
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D-1
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(1)
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Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules
of the SEC and means voting or investment power with respect to
securities. Except as indicated below, the individuals or groups
named in this table have sole voting and investment power with
respect to all shares of common stock indicated above.
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(2)
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Includes shares that may be acquired upon the exercise of
outstanding options that were exercisable within 60 days of
February 28, 2011 as follows: Mr. Buchi
322,500 shares; Mr. Groenhuysen 15,425 shares;
Mr. Aragues 47,900 shares; Mr. Pappert
62,500 shares; Dr. Russell Cooper 146,800 shares;
Mr. Egan 105,000 shares; Mr. Greenacre
105,000 shares; Mr. Kailian 70,000 shares;
Mr. Moley 60,000 shares; Dr. Sanders
110,000 shares; Dr. Wilensky 90,000 shares;
Mr. Winger 90,000 shares; and all executive officers
and directors as a group (16 persons) 1,950,475 shares.
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(3)
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Shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of stock
options that are exercisable within 60 days of
February 28, 2011 and shares of Common Stock issuable upon
the conversion of the Companys convertible subordinated
notes are deemed to be outstanding and beneficially owned by the
person or group holding such option or notes, as the case may
be, for purposes of computing such persons percentage
ownership as of February 28, 2011 but are not deemed
outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage
ownership of any other person or group as of February 28,
2011.
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(4)
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Information is as of December 31, 2010 and is based upon a
Schedule 13G, as amended and filed by Wellington Management
Company, LLP (WMC) with the SEC on February 14,
2011. WMC is an investment adviser with respect to
9,170,782 shares that are held of record by clients of WMC.
Vanguard Specialized Fund Vanguard Health Care Fund
is a client of WMC holding more than five percent of the
Companys securities. WMC has shared voting power with
respect to 2,902,802 shares and shared dispositive power
with respect to 9,170,782 shares.
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(5)
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Information is as of January 31, 2011 and is based upon a
Schedule 13G, as amended and filed by BlackRock, Inc.
(BlackRock) with the SEC on February 10, 2011.
BlackRock is a Delaware corporation and a parent holding company
or control person in accordance with Rule 13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(G) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. BlackRock has sole voting
power and sole dispositive power with respect to
8,729,500 shares.
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(6)
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Information is as of December 31, 2010 and is based upon a
Schedule 13G, as amended and filed with the SEC by T. Rowe
Price Associates, Inc. (T. Rowe Price) on
February 10, 2011. These securities are owned by various
individual and institutional investors, for which T. Rowe Price
Associates, Inc. serves as investment adviser, registered under
Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, with
power to direct investments and/or sole power to vote the
securities. For purposes of the reporting requirements of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, T. Rowe Price is deemed to be a
beneficial owner of such securities; however, T. Rowe Price
expressly disclaims that it is, in fact, the beneficial owner of
such securities. T. Rowe Price has sole voting power to vote
1,259,932 shares and sole dispositive power over
5,556,081 shares.
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(7)
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Information is as of December 31, 2010 and is based upon a
Schedule 13G, as amended and filed with the SEC by Vanguard
Specialized Funds Vanguard Healthcare Fund
(Vanguard SF-VHF), on February 10, 2011.
Vanguard SF-VHF is an Investment Company registered under
Section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, and is the
beneficial owner and has sole voting power with respect to
5,811,230 shares.
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(8)
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Information is as of December 31, 2010 and is based upon a
Schedule 13G, as amended and filed by FMR LLC
(FMR) and others with the SEC on February 14,
2011 that states the following:
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Fidelity Management & Research Company
(Fidelity), a wholly owned subsidiary of FMR and an
investment adviser, is the beneficial owner of
6,553,799 shares of the Common Stock outstanding of the
Company as a result of acting as investment adviser to various
investment companies. The number of shares of Common Stock owned
by the investment companies at December 31, 2010 included
24,625 shares of Common Stock resulting from the assumed
conversion of $1,150,000 principal amount of the Companys
2% convertible notes due June 1, 2015 (21.4133 shares
of Common Stock for each $1,000 principal amount of debenture).
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Edward C. Johnson, 3d, Chairman of FMR, and FMR,
through its control of Fidelity and its funds (the
Funds) each has sole dispositive power of the
6,553,799 shares of the Common Stock outstanding of the
Company owned by the Funds. Neither FMR nor Edward C. Johnson,
3d, has the sole power to vote or direct the voting of the
shares owned directly by the Funds, which power resides with the
Funds Boards of Trustees.
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D-2
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Fidelity carries out the voting of the shares under written
guidelines established by the Funds Boards of Trustees.
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Members of the family of Edward C. Johnson 3d,
Chairman of FMR LLC, are the predominant owners, directly or
through trusts, of Series B voting common shares of FMR
LLC, representing 49% of the voting power of FMR LLC. The
Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders
have entered into a shareholders voting agreement under
which all Series B voting common shares will be voted in
accordance with the majority vote of Series B voting common
shares. Accordingly, through their ownership of voting common
shares and the execution of the shareholders voting
agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under
the Investment Company Act of 1940, to form a controlling group
with respect to FMR LLC.
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Strategic Advisers, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary
of FMR and an investment adviser registered under
Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940,
provides investment advisory services to individuals. As such,
FMRs beneficial ownership includes 3,913 shares of
the Common Stock outstanding of the Company, beneficially owned
through Strategic Advisers, Inc.
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Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC (PGA LLC),
an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of FMR and an investment
adviser registered under Section 203 of the Investment
Advisors Act of 1940, is the beneficial owner of
220,174 shares of the Common Stock outstanding of the
Company, as a result of its serving as investment advisor to
institutional accounts,
non-U.S. mutual
funds, or investment companies registered under Section 8
of the Investment Company Act of 1940 owning such shares. The
number of shares of common stock of the Company owned by
institutional account(s) at December 31, 2010 included
177,794 shares of the Common Stock outstanding of the
Company resulting from the assumed conversion of $8,303,000
principal amount of the Companys 2% convertible notes due
June 1, 2015 (21.4133 shares of Common Stock for each
$1,000 principal amount of debenture).
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Edward C. Johnson, 3d and FMR, through its control
of PGA LLC, each has sole dispositive power over
220,174 shares and sole power to vote or to direct the
voting of 220,174 shares of the Common Stock owned by the
institutional accounts or funds advised by PGA LLC as reported
above.
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Pyramis Global Advisors Trust Company
(PGATC), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of FMR
LLC and a bank as defined in Section 3(a)(6) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, is the beneficial owner of
170,681 of the Common Stock outstanding of the Company, as a
result of its serving as investment manager of institutional
accounts owning such shares. The number of shares of common
stock of the Company owned by institutional account(s) at
December 31, 2010 included 20,129 shares of Common
Stock resulting from the assumed conversion of $940,000
principal amount of the Companys 2% convertible notes due
June 01, 2015 (21.4133 shares of common stock for each
$1,000 principal amount of debenture).
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Edward C. Johnson, 3d and FMR, through its control
of PGATC, each has sole dispositive power over
170,681 shares and sole power to vote or to direct the
voting of 170,681 shares of the Common Stock outstanding of
the Company owned by the institutional accounts managed by PGATC
as reported above.
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FIL Limited (FIL) and various
foreign-based subsidiaries provide investment advisory and
management services to a number of
non-U.S. investment
companies and certain institutional investors. FIL, which is a
qualified institution under section
240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii),
is the beneficial owner of 84,890 shares of the Common
Stock outstanding of the Company.
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Partnerships controlled predominantly by members of the family
of Edward C. Johnson 3d, Chairman of FMR LLC and FIL, or trusts
for their benefit, own shares of FIL voting stock with the right
to cast approximately 39% of the total votes which may be cast
by all holders of FIL voting stock. FMR LLC and FIL are separate
and independent corporate entities, and their Boards of
Directors are generally composed of different individuals.
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FMR LLC and FIL are of the view that they are not acting as a
group for purposes of Section 13(d) under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and that they are not otherwise
required to attribute to each other the beneficial
ownership of securities beneficially owned by
the other corporation within the meaning of Rule
13d-3
promulgated under the 1934 Act. Therefore, they are of the
view that the shares held by the other
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D-3
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corporation need not be aggregated for purposes of Section
13(d). However, FMR LLC is making this filing on a voluntary
basis as if all of the shares are beneficially owned by FMR LLC
and FIL on a joint basis.
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FIL has sole dispositive power over 84,890 shares owned by
the International Funds. FIL has sole power to vote or direct
the voting of 82,440 shares and no power to vote or direct
the voting of 2,450 shares of Common Stock held by the
International Funds as reported above.
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(9)
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|
Information is as of December 31, 2010 and is based upon a
Schedule 13G, as amended and filed with the SEC by The
Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard) on February 10,
2011. Vanguard has sole voting power over 94,053 shares and
sole dispositive power over 4,226,915 shares and, through
its wholly-owned subsidiary, Vanguard Fiduciary
Trust Company (VFTC), is the beneficial owner
of 94,053 shares as a result of its serving as investment
manager of collective trust accounts. VFTC directs the voting of
these shares. The aggregate amount of beneficially owned shares
by Vanguard is 4,320,968 shares of the Common Stock
outstanding of the Company.
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D-4
Annex E
PRELIMINARY COPY
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION
DATED APRIL 18, 2011
PLEASE CONSENT TODAY!
SEE REVERSE SIDE
FOR THREE EASY WAYS TO CONSENT!
TO CONSENT BY MAIL, PLEASE DETACH CONSENT CARD HERE, AND SIGN, DATE AND RETURN IN THE ENVELOPE PROVIDED
THIS WRITTEN CONSENT IS SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF VALEANT PHARMACEUTICALS
INTERNATIONAL, INC.
This written consent is solicited on behalf of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc.
(Valeant) and certain other participants, and not on behalf of the Board of Directors of
Cephalon, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the Company). Unless otherwise indicated below, the
undersigned, a stockholder of record of shares of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the
Common Stock), of the Company, as of April 8, 2011, the record date established for determining
stockholders entitled to consent to the following actions (the Proposals), hereby consents,
pursuant to Section 228 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, with respect to all shares of
Common Stock held by the undersigned, to the adoption of the below-described Proposals without a
meeting of the stockholders of the Company.
This written consent revokes all prior written consents given by the undersigned with respect
to the matters covered hereby.
Your consent is important. Please CONSENT immediately.
Please sign, date and return your written consent form in the enclosed postage-paid envelope.
[continued on the reverse side]
YOUR CONSENT IS IMPORTANT
PLEASE REVIEW THE CONSENT STATEMENT AND CONSENT TODAY IN ONE OF THREE WAYS:
1. Consent by Telephone
Please call toll-free in the U.S. or Canada at
1-877-456-7915
on a
touch-tone telephone. If outside the U.S. or Canada, call
1-781-575-4687
. Please follow the simple
instructions. You will be required to provide the unique control number printed below.
OR
2. Consent by Internet
Please access
http://proxy.georgeson.com/
, and follow the simple
instructions. Please note you must type an s after http. You will be required to provide the
unique control number printed below.
You may consent by telephone or Internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your telephone or
Internet consent authorizes your consent in the same manner as if you had signed, dated and
returned a consent card.
OR
3. Consent by Mail
If you do not wish to consent by telephone or over the Internet, please
sign, date and return the consent card in the envelope provided, or mail to: Valeant, c/o Georgeson
Inc. 199 Water Street 26
th
Floor, New York, NY 10038.
TO CONSENT BY MAIL, PLEASE DETACH CONSENT CARD HERE, AND SIGN, DATE AND RETURN IN THE ENVELOPE PROVIDED
GOLD
VALEANT RECOMMENDS THAT YOU CONSENT TO PROPOSALS 1, 2 AND 3 BELOW.
Proposal 1 (Bylaw Restoration Proposal): RESOLVED, that any changes to the amended and
restated bylaws of Cephalon, Inc. filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 16,
2011, be and are hereby repealed:
CONSENT
c
DOES NOT CONSENT
c
ABSTAIN
c
Proposal 2 (Removal Proposal): RESOLVED, that each member of the board of directors of
Cephalon, Inc. as of the time this resolution becomes effective, and each person, if any,
theretofore nominated, appointed or elected by the board of directors of Cephalon, Inc. prior to
the effectiveness of this resolution to become a member of the board of directors of Cephalon, Inc.
at any future time or upon any event, be and hereby is removed:
CONSENT
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DOES NOT CONSENT
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ABSTAIN
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INSTRUCTION
: TO CONSENT, WITHHOLD CONSENT OR ABSTAIN FROM CONSENTING TO
THE REMOVAL OF ALL THE PERSONS DESCRIBED IN PROPOSAL 2, CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX ABOVE. IF
YOU WISH TO CONSENT TO THE REMOVAL OF ONE OR MORE OF SUCH PERSONS, BUT NOT ALL OF THEM,
CHECK THE CONSENT BOX ABOVE AND WRITE THE NAME OF EACH PERSON YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE
REMOVED IN THE SPACE BELOW:
Proposal 3 (Election Proposal): To elect each of the following eight (8) individuals to
serve as a director of Cephalon, Inc.: Santo J. Costa, Abe M. Friedman, Richard H. Koppes, Lawrence
N. Kugelman, Anders Lönner, John H. McArthur, Thomas G. Plaskett and Blair H. Sheppard:
CONSENT
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DOES NOT CONSENT
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ABSTAIN
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INSTRUCTION
: TO CONSENT, WITHHOLD CONSENT OR ABSTAIN FROM CONSENTING TO
THE ELECTION OF ALL THE PERSONS NAMED IN PROPOSAL 3, CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX ABOVE. IF
YOU WISH TO CONSENT TO THE ELECTION OF ONE OR MORE OF THE NOMINEES, BUT NOT ALL OF THEM,
CHECK THE CONSENT BOX ABOVE AND WRITE THE NAME OF EACH NOMINEE YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE
ELECTED IN THE SPACE BELOW:
Neither Proposal 1 nor Proposal 2 is subject to, or is conditioned upon, the effectiveness of
any other Proposal. Proposal 3 is conditioned upon the effectiveness of Proposal 2; the number of
Nominees which can be elected will depend on the number of directors removed. We recommend that you
remove all members of the Company Board.
IN THE ABSENCE OF DOES NOT CONSENT OR ABSTAIN BEING INDICATED ABOVE, THE UNDERSIGNED
HEREBY CONSENTS TO EACH PROPOSAL LISTED ABOVE.
IN ORDER FOR YOUR CONSENT TO BE VALID, IT MUST BE DATED.
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Signature of Stockholder
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Signature (if held jointly)
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Name and Title of Representative (if applicable)
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IMPORTANT NOTE TO STOCKHOLDERS:
Please sign exactly as name appears hereon. If the
shares are held by joint tenants, both should sign.
When signing as executor, administrator, trustee,
guardian, or other
representative, please give full title. If a
corporation, please sign in full corporate name by
an authorized officer. If a
partnership, please sign in partnership name by an
authorized
person.