Despite Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) (TSE:VRX) apparently bowing out of the Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN) sweepstakes, saying $219 per share is too rich for its blood, William Ackman has his Pershing Square Capital Management was a clear winner in the deal. Even after sharing fees with Valeant on its stake in Allergan, the activist hedge fund has netted over $2.2 billion on the deal, CNBC is reporting.
Ackman’s investment in Allergan
The largest hedge fund holder of the stock, Pershing Square had nearly $5.14 billion tied up in 28.8 million shares, buying the stock at an average price of $127. Ackman’s investment in Allergan was the largest component of his portfolio, accounting for a whopping 38.30 percent of total exposure.
Allergan was widely held among hedge funds, however, and Ackman wasn’t the only investor winner, but he clearly had the highest percentage exposure.
Pentwater Capital’s exposed portfolio
Pentwater Capital Management, which held Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN) stock for almost a quarter, had 10.10 percent of his portfolio exposed, accounting for $650 million. The fund, which specializes in merger arbitrage and event driven investing, has a reported $9 billion portfolio value.
Steadfast Capital Management had 7 percent of its portfolio tied up in $396 million worth of the stock as of September 30, the report noted. The hedge fund, operated by Robert Pitts out of New York, has a portfolio reported to valued at over $6 billion total is also a big holder of Actavis plc (NYSE:ACT), which is apparently the eventual winner in the Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN) battle.
While most of the hedge fund winners in the stock are short term investors, with Pershing Square holding their stock for approximately six months to date but most of the hedge funds having closer to 3 months exposure, some of the longer term stock holders benefited, but not to the same degree.
Blackrock’s investment in Allergan
Alternative investing giant BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK), for instance, had been in the stock for seven years, but only had 0.30 percent exposure of its portfolio dedicated to Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN). D E Shaw had 5.5 years of exposure to the company but only dedicated 0.40 percent of its portfolio to the stock. Oz Management, with 3 years and 3.4 percent exposure, or $692 million, had slightly larger exposure, as did Samlyn Capital, with two years exposure to the stock and 4.10 percent exposure, or $193 million.
Other well known hedge fund names to benefit from the stock on a short term basis included Paulson & Company, which took a larger large 4.10 percent exposure, or $958 million and Viking Global, which had a 1.6 percent exposure to the stock, or $406 million. Each of these funds held their stock for less than a quarter on average.
