Ackman Warns Allergan Against Saying No to Valeant Offer

   By Ben Fox Rubin 
 

William Ackman has a warning for Allergan Inc.'s leadership: Just saying no is a bad idea.

Less than a day after the activist investor disclosed he has teamed up with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. in an unsolicited offer to buy Allergan--maker of wrinkle fighter Botox--for $46 billion, he cast a warning to Allergan's leadership if they don't want to negotiate. He said that part of what he does is compel companies to "do the right thing for shareholders."

"And we have all kinds of ways of making that happen," he said at an investor presentation in Manhattan on Tuesday. He later added, "We will do that here, we are committed to doing that here and we have an enormous financial and reputational" investment in making that happen.

The comments come as Mr. Ackman is trying to push a deal forward by taking a nearly 10% stake in Allergan, worth about $4 billion, his biggest investment ever. Quebec-based Valeant, which owns brands such as Bausch & Lomb, had been trying woo Allergan for some time, people familiar with the matter said, when Mr. Ackman approached it about working together on a deal.

Write to Ben Fox Rubin at [e-mail]

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