Activist Starboard ends BMS proxy war after advisories back Celgene deal

Apparently, positive word from influential proxy advisory firms was enough to put the nail in the coffin on Starboard Value's campaign to scuttle the mammoth Bristol-Myers Squibb-Celgene merger. Friday, the rebel investor said it would stop soliciting BMS shareholders to vote against the tie-up—and it blamed Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, who came out earlier in the day in support of the deal, for thwarting its campaign. "We are extremely disappointed by the conclusions reached by the proxy voting advisory firms,” it said in a statement, adding that “despite the substantial swell of support against this transaction, it is extremely difficult for shareholders to prevail without a supportive recommendation from ISS and Glass Lewis to vote against." The concession ends a battle between Starboard and Bristol that began earlier this year when Starboard nabbed a stake in the New Jersey drugmaker in response to the Celgene agreement. Starboard went on to argue that picking up Celgene, with its Revlimid patent uncertainties, was a risky move, and that BMS had better options for creating value.