(Bloomberg) -- Elanco Animal Health Inc. has reached a settlement with Ancora Holdings Group LLC, allowing it to avoid a proxy fight with the activist investor.

Greenfield, Indiana-based Elanco has appointed Ancora nominees Craig Wallace and Kathy Turner as independent directors on its board, it said in a statement Monday that confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report. Wallace and Turner will also join the Elanco board’s finance, strategy and oversight committee.

Led by Chief Executive Officer Jeff Simmons, Elanco provides products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets. Shares in the company have risen 9% this year, giving it a market value of $8 billion. 

Ancora said in February that it has a roughly $250 million stake in Elanco, and was pushing for, among other things, an orderly succession process at the company. 

“Our recent interactions with Elanco give us confidence that Jeff and the board are focused on the right steps with respect to corporate governance and value creation,” Frederick DiSanto, chairman and CEO of Ancora, said in Monday’s statement.

Wallace is the former CEO (North America/Pacific) of animal health company Ceva Santé Animale, while Turner was previously global chief marketing officer at IDEXX Laboratories. Ancora also nominated James Chadwick, who helps lead its activism investment strategy, and logistics executive Andrew Clarke to Elanco’s board. 

The activist investment firm is separately seeking a majority board representation at railway giant Norfolk Southern Corp., where the proxy battle is ongoing. 

Read more: Norfolk Southern Bolsters Executive Team Amid Activist Fight (1)

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