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Glaxo Board and Activist Hedge Fund Bluebell Spar in New Letters

Glaxo Board and Activist Hedge Fund Bluebell Spar in New Letters

GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s board hit back at Bluebell Capital Partners after the activist hedge fund called for the removal of both the chairman and chief executive officer.

GSK Chairman Jonathan Symonds wrote to Bluebell’s partners on Wednesday, saying the drugmaker was “disappointed” in their account of an investor meeting aimed at updating investors on progress toward spinning off the consumer unit. In the letter seen by Bloomberg, Symonds said remarks made at the forum were taken out of context, and he backed steps CEO Emma Walmsley and her team have taken to improve the company’s performance.

Bluebell hit back in its own letter Thursday, calling GSK’s version of events “simply untrue” and reiterating demands for a “radical reshuffle” of the board. Last month, the firm invested about 10 million pounds ($14 million) in GSK, a company with a market capitalization of more than 70 billion pounds. 

“We have said all we are going to say on the matter,” a GSK spokesman said.

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