Ubben Sells More Shares of Motorola Solutions Inc. (MSI), Meister Cuts Stake in This REIT, Plus 2 Other Moves

According to a separate 13D filing, Alex Denner’s Sarissa Capital Management LP and Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) have agreed to an amendment to a previous agreement reached in April 2015, with the amendment stipulating that the standstill provisions included in the April settlement agreement were terminated on March 17, 2016. Sarissa Capital, which owns 12.85 million shares of the global oncology company, also agreed not to submit a director nomination notice or business proposal at the company’s 2016 annual meeting of stockholders. Mr. Denner’s investment firm entered into an agreement with Ariad Pharmaceuticals to settle a proxy contest last April, under which former Chairman, CEO and President, Harvey J. Berger, stepped down. The company’s Board of Directors formed a CEO search committee at that time, which was chaired by Mr. Denner. In December, the company announced that its Board of Directors had approved the appointment of Paris Panayiotopoulos as President and CEO, with him taking on his duties beginning January 1.

Ariad’s first approved cancer drug, Iclusia (ponatinib), is being marketed in the United States, Europe and other countries for the treatment of patients suffering with rare forms of leukemia. The drug generated net product sales of $112.5 million in 2015. There were 29 hedgies observed by Insider Monkey with long positions in the oncology company at the end of the fourth quarter, accumulating nearly 21% of its outstanding shares. Zach Schreiber’s Point State Capital had ownership of 4.25 million shares of Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) at the end of the December quarter.

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