Actelion hit with $547M judgment as insurgents rally

Just as Actelion's executive team was gearing up for a showdown on Thursday with a rebellious crew of insurgent shareholders, the company was hit with a big court judgment. A jury ruled that Asahi Kasei Pharma should get $547 million to settle its claims against Actelion in a licensing dispute that followed Actelion's $420 million buyout of CoTherix in 2007. Actelion says it may appeal. "The news is a clear negative for Actelion both sentiment-wise and fundamentally. Without the activist process we would struggle to keep the Buy rating," said Kepler Capital Markets analyst Tero Weckroth. Story