GlaxoSmithKline boss Emma Walmsley has made her boldest move yet in her battle to fend off a US hedge fund and hold on to her job.
Less than a month after announcing plans to split in two, the UK drugs group has unveiled a project to build one of Europe’s largest biotechnology campuses in Stevenage.
It is hoped the £400million project will go some way to silencing New York-based investor Elliott, which has questioned whether Walmsley is the right person to lead the company.
US hedge fund Elliot has questioned whether Emma Walmsley (pictured) is the right person to lead GlaxoSmithKline
The project will create 5,000 UK jobs over the next five years and the campus will sit next to GSK’s existing site.
The company expects to select a development partner later this year and work will start in 2022.
GSK senior vice president Tony Wood said: ‘Our goal is for Stevenage to emerge as a top destination for medical and scientific research by the end of the decade.’
The project is a major boost for the town, which is also home to the Airbus space technology centre.
Walmsley has faced growing pressure from Elliott. Two weeks ago the ruthless money manager questioned whether the 52-year-old should remain in charge as GSK plans to split into two next year.
Walmsley wants to stay on after the separation and run the drugs business but Elliott say she lacks the experience or the skills.
The hedge fund is also unhappy that it has taken GSK two years to plan the split and the uncertainty has caused the share price to slide.
But for now GSK’s chairman and the company’s top investors have backed Walmsley, with Royal London, M&G and Jupiter Asset Management all throwing their weight behind her.
It is understood that top shareholders do not want Walmsley to allow Elliott to distract the company from its existing strategy.
But GSK has received criticism during the pandemic for failing to develop a coronavirus jab of its own.
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