Norway wealth fund abstains from Novo board vote; Stock up on dropped Metsera bid

Investing.com -- Norway’s sovereign wealth fund said on Monday it will abstain from voting on new board members, including the chair, at Novo Nordisk’s extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on November 14.

The decision comes amid a leadership shakeup at the Danish drugmaker. Current chair Helge Lund and six other independent directors are set to resign following tensions with the company’s controlling shareholder, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, over the pace of change at the firm.

The foundation, which controls most of Novo’s voting rights through its investment arm Novo Holdings, said last month it plans to appoint its own chair, Lars Rebien Sorensen, to lead the board.

The Norwegian fund did not specify a reason for its abstention.

The foundation has criticised the outgoing board for moving too slowly to address challenges in the key U.S. market and for hesitating on management changes. It called for a stronger focus on the fast-growing direct-to-consumer and mass-market segments.

Sorensen said the foundation had sought broad change on the board but expressed confidence in new CEO Mike Doustdar, who took over in August and has initiated job cuts alongside efforts to refocus the company on its main markets.

Novo said last month that it had been “impossible to reach a common understanding” over the board’s composition, prompting the independent directors’ departure.

Sorensen played down the dispute, saying he “preferred not to have it coined as a coup,” adding that the changes aim to strengthen Novo’s position in the U.S., where he described the business as operating within a “very transactional model.”

Shares in Novo Nordisk rose more than 3% in early trading on Monday after the Wegovy maker withdrew its bid for U.S. weight-loss drug developer Metsera, ending a takeover battle with Pfizer.

Pfizer announced late Friday that it had sealed a $10 billion agreement to acquire Metsera, a setback for Novo as it seeks to narrow its gap with Eli Lilly in the fast-growing obesity market.

Metsera said it accepted Pfizer’s improved offer, citing antitrust risks linked to Novo’s proposal, which it had earlier described as more attractive. Novo confirmed on Saturday that it would step aside.

The deal gives Pfizer a foothold in the lucrative weight-loss segment, though Metsera’s experimental treatments are still several years away from commercialization.

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