Pfizer threatened to sue renegade executives prior to activist schism, Starboard's Smith says

Ian Read, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer Inc., gestures as he speaks during a panel session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017.Activist Starboard Value accused Pfizer of threatening litigation against the company's former CEO and CFO in order to get them to break ranks with the investor's nascent turnaround campaign at the pharmaceutical giant.Starboard managing member Jeff Smith said in a Thursday letter to Pfizer's board that the company or i ...