While investors in Herbalife are calling for an aggressive stock buyback, the company is taking a more measured approach due to a belief that “they are in a long battle with” Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman, according to a breaking news report from FOX Business Network (FBN) Senior Correspondent Charlie Gasparino. Gasparino went on to report that Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) has been buying back stock since the January 17th announcement on having “a billion dollar worth of buyback authority” but “they don’t want to do it all at once” because they “think they’re going to fight it out for years.”
On whether investors in Herbalife pushing for a more aggressive stock buyback program:
“Here’s what we know guys, bottom line is that investors in Herbalife have been pounding the company, demanding a more aggressive buyback program. What we do know is that since the January 17th announcement that they have a billion dollar worth of buyback authority, Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) has been in the market buying back shares. It is a lot less aggressive then what investors want and the reason why, at least according to people close to the company, they’re telling the FOX Business Network is that they believe they are in a long battle with Ackman, they just don’t want to do it all at once. They think they’re going to fight it out for years.”
On Herbalife’s stock buyback approach:
“People close to the company are saying that it has significant resources to buyback shares, stocks, cash and access to bank lines and credit, but it’s doing it in a less aggressive approach, right now at least, because it expects a long battle with Ackman.”
