Pershing Square sells stake in Valeant

18.1 MILLION SHARES

William Ackman of double-digit losses and a tarnished reputation.

“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,” Ackman said in a statement.

Pershing Square was Valeant’s second largest owner after hedge fund Paulson & Co, a regulatory filing shows. Hedge fund ValueAct Holdings is the third-biggest owner.

Ackman’s fund bought into Valeant when the stock was trading near US$190 a share and he watched it surge to US$260 a share during the summer of 2015.

But governmental scrutiny of the company’s pricing policies coupled with scandals surrounding Valeant’s specialty pharmacy unit, Philidor, caused the stock price to sharply tumble after August 2015.

On Monday, it closed at US$12.11 on the New York Stock Exchange, having fallen 16 per cent since January even as many other stocks were climbing again, buoyed by hopes of stronger economic growth and increased merger activity.

During his one year on the board, Ackman replaced Valeant’s CEO, refreshed the board with 10 new directors and worked to pay down some US$2.7 billion in debt through the sale of non-core assets.

Still, the company’s stock price kept sinking despite hopes that a merger deal might be around the corner.