2nd Mar 2006 16:58
Skyepharma PLC02 March 2006 For Immediate Release 2 March 2006 This is a summary - the detailed release will be issued later today SkyePharma Responds to Allegations Made by North Atlantic Value Group LONDON, UK, 2 March 2006 - SkyePharma wishes to respond to certainunsubstantiated allegations made today by a minority group of shareholders ("theNAV group") in a circular to SkyePharma's shareholders. The vast majority of theshareholdings held by the NAV group have been acquired in the last nine months. Until today the Company has not been able to respond with a detailed rebuttal asthe EGM requisition and subsequent letters from the NAV group have only citedunspecified "corporate governance issues". • The allegations made by the NAV group are without substance and they continue to offer no strategy for taking SkyePharma forward. • All NAV group's claims concern matters detailed in SkyePharma's reports and accounts and other documents before they invested. NAV group cannot claim they were unaware of these facts unless they failed to review these publicly available documents. • We agree with their statement that SkyePharma has an "excellent and potentially very valuable product portfolio". This has been built by the current Board. • SkyePharma has appointed a new non-Executive Chairman, Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer. The appointment of an Executive Chairman would make them redundant no matter what the NAV group has implied in the media. • The NAV group's activity has severely undermined the current share price in the Board's opinion. • The Board of SkyePharma continues to advise shareholders to vote AGAINST the resolutions proposed at the EGM. Summary response details follow: "A history of disappointing its shareholders" Drug development is a long-term process. Predicting the timing ofcommercialisation is difficult. SkyePharma has always provided the clearestmost accurate estimates possible. SkyePharma has a new Chairman and managementteam dedicated to delivering its new strategy which is designed to move theCompany into profitability as soon as possible. "Contracts with questionable value to shareholders" All investments are made as part of the Company's commercial relationships andusually as part payment to SkyePharma. Some have resulted in capital gains andothers have not. To protect its investments, SkyePharma requests a boardposition, after - not before - it invests as a common practice. All informationon this has been detailed in the Annual Reports. "An inflated corporate cost base" SkyePharma's New York offices were rented on an arm's length basis on termsbased on independent real estate valuations. The cost of the London office is£42 per sq ft over five years, not £80 as suggested by the NAV group. Theseoffices are not expensive or lavish - but management is already reviewing allcorporate overheads, including the London and New York offices. "Robert Thian's suitability" In the view of the Board, Robert Thian is unsuitable to be Executive Chairman.His last executive pharmaceutical experience was in 1989. He lacks the technicaltraining, experience and qualifications. Dr Karabelas and his newly appointedteam have current, relevant experience. They are highly qualified and haveexemplary track records. Dr Jerry Karabelas, Chairman said: "NAV offer no substance, no strategy, just distortion. NAV would destroySkyePharma with an 18 month review when new management is already moving theCompany forward rapidly. "This is a crucial moment for shareholders. The choice is to back the Company'scoherent strategy or to listen to vague unsubstantiated slurs. "The Board of SkyePharma believes that all of the above allegations arecompletely unfounded and have no basis in fact. They have been contrived by theNAV group for their own ends." For further information please contact: SkyePharma PLC +44 207 491 1777 Frank Condella, Chief Executive OfficerPeter Laing, Director of Corporate Communications +44 207 491 5124 Sandra Haughton, US Investor Relations +1 212 753 5780 Buchanan Communications +44 207 466 5000 Tim Anderson / Mark Court SkyePharma wishes to remind Shareholders that they are entitled to attend andvote at the meeting and/or may appoint a proxy to attend on their behalf. TheBoard strongly advises Shareholders to vote AGAINST the resolutions bycompleting, signing and returning the Form of Proxy (which was sent togetherwith the Notice of Extraordinary General Meeting dated 16 February 2006). Thecompleted proxies should be returned as soon as possible so as to arrive atCapita Registrars, The Registry, 34 Beckenham Road, Beckenham Kent, BR3 4TU notlater than 11 am on 7 March 2006. SkyePharma plc has appointed Salisbury Associates as its ShareholderCommunications Advisor. Salisbury Associates have established the following TollFree Shareholder Helplines: If you have any questions regarding the contents of the documents you havereceived, please call the appropriate Shareholder Information Hotline In the UK0800-035-2220 In North America011800-3231-3233 From other International sites+44 1494 840 812 The helpline hours are: 9:00am - 5:00pm UK time Monday to Friday from 17 February 20069.00an - 5.00pm EST in North America Please note that your call maybe recoreded for quality assurance and trainingpurposes. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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