Saul Kerpelman

Saul Kerpelman, an Icos investor in Baltimore who owns 110,000 shares, said early last week that he had tallied nearly 1.5 million shares against the deal among individual investors who have voiced their opposition on an Internet message board.

Kerpelman, who also opposes the proposed sale to Lilly, said opponents of the deal appear to be in two camps: those who "just want to cash out at a higher price" and those who "believe (Icos) could be a great company" if it were run by better managers.

"HealthCor," which Kerpelman counts among the former, "made a compelling case that the (per-share) price should be in the $40s.I think it could be in the $50s or even $60s," he said.

Kerpelman, who said he is a long-time critic of Icos CEO Paul Clark, said his "dream outcome would be for (Microsoft co-founder) Bill Gates (Icos' third-largest shareholder) to announce that he will vote against the deal and that he'll come back to the board and serve as acting CEO."

"It's just a dream, but it's what (billionaire investor) Warren Buffett did" with another company in a similar situation a few years ago, Kerpelman said.