Allergan may be throwing Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management a curveball. The Botox maker is discussing a possible merger with generic drug maker Actavis in a deal that could be worth at least $60 billion, according to Bloomberg. The report says Actavis wants to pay closer to $200 a share while Allergan is holding out for more than $210 per share. Of course, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, which has Pershing Square’s backing, is willing to pay at least $200 per share for Allergan, which has repeatedly spurned the offer.
Meanwhile, Allergan announced Wednesday that its board has approved amendments to its bylaws that make it easier for shareholders to call a special meeting. “The board is proactively addressing Allergan’s bylaws to ensure that the December 18, 2014 special meeting of stockholders requested by Pershing Square Capital Management, LP is focused on the question of value,” said Michael Gallagher, Allergan’s lead independent director, in a press release. “Allergan remains confident that it can create more value than Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.’s offer to acquire the company’s shares.”
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Mathew Martoma is headed to prison sooner than he had hoped. The U.S. Court of Appeals in New York on Wednesday ruled that the former SAC Capital Advisors portfolio manager can no longer remain free on bail while he awaits the appeal of his insider-trading conviction, according to Bloomberg. It did not say when he must report to prison. However, in its ruling, the court said his appeal lacks a “substantial question” that likely would result in his conviction being overturned, according to the report. Martoma’s lawyer claims the trial judge erroneously prohibited jurors from hearing SAC founder Steven A. Cohen’s testimony to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Paul Singer’s New York-based Elliott Management Corp. cut its stake in Emulex, the maker of storage networking products, to 3.1 percent from 6.3 percent.
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Bridgewater Associates continues to hold significant stakes in three exchange-traded funds. At the end of the third quarter, its three largest holdings accounted in aggregate for more than 76 percent of U.S. equity assets. However, this is down from 88 percent at the end of the second quarter for the Westport, Connecticut firm. The strategy appears to be an efficient way to maintain exposure to emerging markets. The three funds are Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (36 percent of assets), SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (26.5 percent) and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (26 percent). In the third quarter, Bridgewater trimmed its stake in the S&P 500 fund and slightly boosted its position in the other two funds. Keep in mind these positions include the firm’s hedge funds as well as non-hedge fund offerings.
