Allergan sets date for special meeting but vows to keep fighting Valeant buyout

Put it on the calendar: Allergan has scheduled its special shareholder meeting--key to Valeant's takeover attempt--for Dec. 18. But that doesn't mean it won't continue to fight the very idea in court.

The company has asked a California court to expedite an injunction that would bar Valeant ($VRX) and takeover partner Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management--now Allergan's largest shareholder--from exercising rights associated with shares that the Botox-maker claims they acquired through insider trading.

Allergan ($AGN) will also be reviewing the validity of shareholder requests for the meeting, the company said. Under Allergan bylaws, the special meeting requires the support of investors holding 25% of shares.

Either of those moves could put a roadblock in the way of Ackman and Valeant's special meeting plans. The takeover duo wants to oust the majority of Allergan's board and install a new, deal-friendly slate to nix the company's takeover defenses.

But the pair say they aren't worried. "We are confident that Allergan's desperate attempts to delay or prevent a special meeting of stockholders will not succeed," they said in a statement. "It is apparent that Allergan fears letting its stockholders have a voice, and we believe that its transparent efforts to prevent that will not stand."

Allergan, naturally, sees the situation a bit differently, and the California drugmaker is fighting to prove that Valeant and Ackman acquired their stake unlawfully. But Allergan already failed once to speed up the litigation process: Last week, a district judge refused to rule on the insider trading case within 120 days, saying he didn't see enough reason for accelerating Allergan's case past the others waiting in line.

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