(Reuters) -Shares in Novo Nordisk fell around 3% in early trading 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.
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.
Novo’s shares, which have lost around 45% of their value so far this year, closed 1.3% lower on Tuesday.
The company has lost about $10 billion in market value since Monday’s close.
(Reporting by Jesus Calero in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
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