Avidity Hit With Suit Aiming to Block $12 Billion Novartis Deal

An Avidity Biosciences Inc. stockholder has filed a lawsuit against the company and its board of directors seeking to stop its sale to Novartis AG over allegations Avidity withheld key details from investors and provided misleading information about the deal.

Novartis agreed to buy Avidity in October in a $12 billion at $72 a share. The transaction is one of the Swiss drugmaker’s biggest acquisitions in over a decade.

Avidity’s proxy statement omits material information about the sales process, financial projections, and conflicts of interest that shareholders need to make informed voting decisions, Steve Barnhart, an Avidity stockholder, alleged in ...