By Jesus Calero
(Reuters) -Shares of Novo Nordisk fell around 3% on Wednesday, extending their losses from a day earlier, after the Wegovy maker’s top investor proposed a sweeping board overhaul.
The non-profit Novo Nordisk Foundation said that current chair Helge Lund and six other independent board members would step down next month after a dispute with the foundation over the pace of change at the company.
The foundation plans to install Lars Rebien Sorensen, a former Novo CEO and the chairperson of the foundation, as the company chair for up to three years. It has also proposed six new board members.
Novo’s shares, which have lost around 45% of their value so far this year, closed 1.3% lower on Tuesday. They have shed roughly $10 billion in market value since Monday’s close alone.
Analysts from Barclays said in a research note they were “somewhat surprised” by the timing and scale of the reshuffle, which came only a few months after the arrival of Novo’s new CEO Mike Doustdar in August.
“This appears to be a structural governance reset,” the analysts wrote, adding the move seemed to be aimed at aligning the board composition with Novo’s pivot to consumer engagement, higher focus on the U.S. market and potential deals.
Analyst Per Hansen from Nordnet described the board shake-up as a governance challenge inside the group.
“Disagreement between Novo and the foundation was already visible when the CEO was fired. Not on request of Novo, but the foundation,” Hansen told Reuters.
He said the reshuffle adds to investor nerves ahead of third-quarter results, with worries ranging from Medicare pricing talks in the U.S. to competition from Eli Lilly in the weigh-loss drug market.
“Lots of challenges short term. Lots of opportunities long term,” Hansen said.
(Reporting by Jesus Calero in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
