Norway's sovereign wealth fund to abstain from Novo Nordisk board vote

COPENHAGEN, Nov 10 (Reuters): Norway's sovereign wealth fund said on Monday it will abstain from voting on Novo Nordisk's board chair or other nominees at the obesity drugmaker's extraordinary shareholder meeting this week, adding to pressure over governance at the company.
Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the world's largest sovereign wealth fund and Novo's third-largest shareholder, disclosed the decision to abstain from voting without giving a reason. A spokesperson declined to comment. NBIM held a 1.79 per cent stake in Novo on June 30 valued at $5.54 billion, according to its latest portfolio update.
The shareholder vote follows a boardroom shake-up at Wegovy and Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk that is set to hand unprecedented control to its majority owner, the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
The foundation plans to install its own chair, Lars Rebien Sorensen, as chair of the company at Friday's meeting. The dual role for Sorensen, who led Novo as CEO from 2000 to 2016, is rattling some investors despite calls for stronger leadership at the Danish drugmaker.
Current Novo Chair Helge Lund and six other independent directors will step down at Friday's meeting after clashing with the foundation over the pace of change at the company.
The foundation, which controls 77 per cent of Novo's voting rights via its investment arm Novo Holdings, declined to comment on NBIM's stance. Novo Nordisk did not immediately comment.
The boardroom clash has added to the turmoil this year at Novo, whose shares are down 51 per cent since the start of 2025 as rival Eli Lilly grabbed market share in the lucrative weight-loss drug market.