Retail Latin America: Bill Ackman

Mostrando las entradas con la etiqueta Bill Ackman. Mostrar todas las entradas

2014/03/12

Ackman Just Made Back Around $72 Million On His Bet Against Herbalife

Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who is famously short Herbalife, is probably pretty pleased with the news that the Federal Trade Commission will probe Herbalife.

Until now, his $1 billion bet that Herbalife will plummet to $0 hasn't played out in his favor.

The most recent estimate was that Ackman had suffered $500 million in paper losses.

He's made back some of that money just now.

In December 2012, Ackman said he was shorting about 20 million shares of Herbalife.

However, he ended up repositioning his short in October 2013 by swapping about 40% of the equity short for put options.

Based on that, we would estimate that he has about 12 million shares in his equity short (That would be 60% of the original before it was repositioned.) With the stock down by around $6 today, we'd estimate he's made back around $72,000,000 on what he's lost, according to our calculations.

Herbalife's stock, which was halted, is was last trading down about 9%. Shares of Herbalife hit a low of $54.68, or 17%, at one point after the FTC news came out.

Ackman believes that Herbalife, a multi-level marketing company that sells nutritional products, operates as a pyramid scheme. He thinks regulators like the FTC will investigate and shut the company down.

2013/08/13

BILL ACKMAN RESIGNS FROM JC PENNEY BOARD, STOCK SPIKES

After much publicized drama, JC Penney has announced that activist investor Bill Ackman has resigned from the board of directors.

"During my time on the J. C. Penney Board of Directors, I have always advocated for what I believe to be in the best interests of the Company," said Ackman. "At this time, I believe that the addition of two new directors and my stepping down from the Board is the most constructive way forward for J. C. Penney and all other parties involved."

Ackman, a well-known hedge fund manager, took a stake in the department store chain with the intention of turning around its sales.

He recruited Ron Johnson, the retail guru behind the Apple stores. However, sales collapsed as Johnson rolled out his revamped sales strategy.

Johnson was eventually ousted and replaced by former CEO Myron Ullman, who agreed to work as interim CEO as the board searches for a permanent replacement.

The stock immediately jumped by 4% on the news.

Here's the full statement via Yahoo Finance/ Reuters:

Plano, Texas (August 13, 2013) - J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP) ("the Company") today announced a series of actions related to its Board of Directors. First, William A. Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management has resigned from the Board effective Aug. 12, 2013.

The Company also announced that Ronald W. Tysoe, a highly respected retail industry executive who spent 16 years as Vice Chairman at Federated Department Stores Inc. (now Macy`s, Inc.), has been elected to the Board also effective Aug. 12, 2013. In addition, the Board said that it intends to name another highly qualified new director in the near future.

Thomas Engibous, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said, "The Company is extremely fortunate to have the benefit of Ron Tysoe`s judgment and experience at this important time. His deep knowledge of the retail industry and his financial expertise will be invaluable to us as we continue the work underway to return J. C. Penney to profitability and growth. I would like to thank Bill Ackman for his service on the Board over the past two years."

Mr. Ackman said, "During my time on the J. C. Penney Board of Directors, I have always advocated for what I believe to be in the best interests of the Company - its stockholders, employees and others. At this time, I believe that the addition of two new directors and my stepping down from the Board is the most constructive way forward for J. C. Penney and all other parties involved."

Mr. Tysoe said, "J. C. Penney is one of America`s great companies, and I am very happy to be joining the Board of Directors. I look forward to working collaboratively with the rest of the Board and management to advance the turnaround currently underway."

The Board today also reaffirmed its overwhelming support for Chief Executive Officer Myron E. (Mike) Ullman, III and for Chairman Thomas Engibous, both of whom have been working tirelessly to position the Company for future success. This important work has included stabilizing the Company`s operations and financial position, restoring confidence among vendors, and taking steps to get customers back into stores.

The Board expresses its deep appreciation for the efforts of the Company`s 116,000 associates, who continue to provide outstanding service to J. C. Penney`s customers during the back-to-school season. It is also grateful to the many vendors and other business partners, as well as stockholders, who have taken the opportunity during the past week to express their confidence in the Company`s leadership and its current path.

Ronald W. Tysoe has over 20 years of retail, finance and real estate investment industry experience. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of Federated Department Stores Inc. from 1988 to 2005, as Vice Chairman for Finance and Real Estate from 1990 to 2006, and as Chief Financial Officer from 1990 to 1997.

Mr. Tysoe currently serves on the boards of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM), Scripps Networks Interactive (SNI), Cintas Corporation (CTAS), and Taubman Centers, Inc. (TCO). He received his Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Law degrees from the University of British Columbia.

2013/08/08

Bill Ackman Says He's Looking For A New JC Penney CEO And The Stock Is Ripping

CNBC's Scott Wapner reports that JCPenney is looking for a new CEO to replace interim chief executive Mike Ullman, according to letter from hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.

Ullman took over the helm again after Ron Johnson stepped down back in April.

What's more is Ackman writes that Allen Questrom, the former JCPenney CEO who was one of Johnson's most vocal critics, might be returning to the board as chairman if he approves of the new CEO, according to Wapner.

Ackman is the largest shareholder in JCPenney and he has a seat on the retailer's board.

His $12 billion Pershing Square Capital Management owns a 17.74% stake in JCPenney, according to the latest 13F regulatory filing for the fund.

Ackman, who has been a big cheerleader for the struggling retailer over the past couple of years, has taken a bath on the stock so far.

Shares of JCPenney are trading up more than 9% on that news.

Here's the chart:

Yahoo! Finance

2013/08/07

The Life And Career Of Bill Ackman — The Hedge Fund Manager Everyone's Picking On These Days

Ever since activist investor Bill Ackman publicly declared he's shorting Herbalife, he has become the target of the biggest names in the hedge fund community.

The tall, handsome, silver-haired billionaire founder of Pershing Square Capital Management has a reputation for being extremely confident.

However, some rival fund managers have described him as "sanctimonious" and they view going long Herbalife as an opportunity to squeeze Ackman on his short position.

"If Ackman gets squeezed I'm not going to feel sorry..." Carl Icahn said in an interview with CNBC, adding, "The fact that I don't like Ackman you could say is the strawberry on top of the ice cream."

"Making money when Bill Ackman is losing money is like a ride at the circus," Bob Chapman of Chapman Capital said on CNBC this week.

So far, fund managers who have piled on by going long Herbalife include Carl Icahn, Daniel Loeb and most recently George Soros.

Loeb exited his Herbalife position in the second quarter for a nice profit. Soros hasn't made any comments publicly about his Herbalife position or Ackman. He reportedly asked to withdraw hundreds of millions from Ackman's Pershing Square earlier this year, though.

Since everyone's been picking on him, let's get to know Ackman better.

Click to see his fabulous life »

2013/07/31

Bill Ackman Makes His Largest Investment Ever

Activist investor Bill Ackman has made his largest investment ever.

According to CNBC's Maneet Ahuja, the activist investor is taking a 9.8% stake in Air Products International (a maker of industrial gas products). That stake is worth $2.2 billion and is reportedly his biggest ever investment.

From the report:

As for Air Products, "it's a great business that is undervalued," Ackman said Tuesday—citing a very diverse customer and product base, high barriers to entry, and substantial pricing power. "We have some ideas on how to add value."

Some of the diverse businesses of Air Products include supplying industrial gases, performance materials, equipment and technology used in industries from steel production to food processing to electronics.

Ackman is known to be on a rough streak, having famously taken a bath on JC Penney, and more recently finding himself on the losing end of a big short of Herbalife.

On that last point, Ackman told CNBC that he hasn't covered a single share of Herbalife,