Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (NDAQ:ACOR) shares moved up $0.26, or 1.15%, to $22.87 today after Daniel Loeb's Third Point disclosed a 9.9% stake in the company and urged the board to consider putting the company up for sale in a Schedule 13D filing with the SEC. The activist hedge fund said that it strongly believes that Fampridine-SR would have the greatest value in the hands of a seasoned worldwide multiple sclerosis drug developer and marketer. Afterall, a more experienced company would be able to expedite Fampridine SR through the FDA and into the hands of patients more quickly and efficiently and quickly create value for shareholders.

Consequently, Third Point recommended that the Board of Directors immediately retain an investment bank and undergo a process to sell the company in its entirety, and forego the recently announced plan to partner Fampridine SR only in Europe. They believe that by marketing Fampridine SR alone in the USA would not only be a tremendous injustice not only to multiple sclerosis patients, who should receive such an effective drug in the most expeditious manner possible, but also to your public shareholders, who have supported Fampridine SR's development. Moreover, a European partnership would be a serious mistake, as it would drastically impair if not eliminate the level of interest from potential acquirers of ACOR. Based on their analysis, Third Point believes that there would be several potential interested buyers and that the acquisition price would be significantly in excess of the current market valuation.

Daniel Loeb is a seasoned activist investor who has successfully forced similar changes in other companies - a future sale of the company is definitely a possibility with nearly 10% of the company's outstanding shares in his hands. Acorda now has to decide whether they want to voluntarily comply with Third Point or attempt to fight the proposal, which could lead to an expensive proxy battle (which they hinted to at the end of their letter to the board). If Third Point is successful in forcing a sale of the company, it could mean significant share appreciation for investors. This makes ACOR a stock that is definitely worth keeping an eye on!

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