Valeant shares plunged after the close after CNBC’s David Faber first reported that Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman had liquidated his entire stake, and has effectively resigned from the board, saying he won’t stand for re-election. According to Bloomberg, Pershing Square is offering 27.23 million shares via Jefferies, at a price of $11.10-$11.40.
Quoted by Reuters, Ackman had the following brief statement on what may have been his worst ever investment: “It was time to get out of the position, investment required disproportionately large amount of time and resources.”
The stock plunged as much as 10% on the news.
And with the biggest potential selling overhang now gone from the stock, this may finally be the bottom for Valeant.
* * *
Pershing’s press release is below:
Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P. Announces Sale of Its Investment In Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc.
Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P. (“Pershing Square”) announced today that it has sold its investment in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (“Valeant”) (ticker: NYSE: VRX). Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman and Vice Chairman Steve Fraidin will remain on the Valeant board until the upcoming annual meeting but will not stand for re-election.
At its current market value, the Valeant position represented 1.5% to 3% of the various Pershing Square funds; however, the investment required a disproportionately large amount of time and resources. As a result, we elected to sell our investment and realize a large tax loss which will enable us to dedicate more time to our other portfolio companies and new investment opportunities.
After Bill Ackman and Steve Fraidin joined the Valeant board in March 2016, they worked with their fellow directors to take important steps to stabilize Valeant and position it for the future. Those steps included:
- Replacing senior management with talented executives, including CEO Joe Papa, CFO Paul Herendeen and GC Christina Ackermann;
- Refreshing the board of directors with 10 new members;
- Returning the company to a current and timely filing schedule with the SEC;
- Receiving appropriate amendments and waivers under applicable credit agreements;
- Announcing a strategy to sell non-core assets to improve the company’s balance sheet;
- Paying down ~$2.7 billion of net debt with the sale of non-core assets and free cash flow generation; and
- Last week, priced a $3.25 billion bond refinancing and covenant waiver package which extends maturities and reduces the company’s exposure to floating interest rates.
CEO Joe Papa and his team have done an excellent job refocusing and setting a new course for the company. We wish the company and its extremely hard working, dedicated and loyal employees great success in the future.
via http://ift.tt/2mFlAfK Tyler Durden