Fondo de inversión Ackman recibe apoyo de reguladores en caso Herbalife

La Comisión Federal de Comercio abrió una investigación sobre sus operaciones.

Diario Financiero Online

La Comisión Federal de Comercio abrió una investigación oficial en contra de Herbalife, la compañía de suplemento alimenticio que ha sido el foco de la cruzada de más de un año que ha llevado el multimillonario gestor de fondos y accionista de la firma, William Ackman.

Al momento de conocerse la noticia el miércoles las acciones cayeron hasta 16% y cerraron con pérdidas de 7,4%. Ayer las acciones siguieron a la baja, cerrando en -5,4%.

Ackman pidió durante meses a los reguladores de Estados Unidos investigar el modelo de distribución de Herbalife, que él llama un “esquema piramidal”, donde una empresa consigue la mayor parte de sus ingresos mediante la contratación de nuevos distribuidores en lugar de obtenerlos mediante la venta de productos.

Herbalife señaló que “va a cooperar plenamente con la Comisión”, según Reuters. Sin embargo, reclamó que Ackman realizaba “un ataque público infundado, incesante y fraudulento contra el modelo de negocio de Herbalife”.

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

By  JULIA LA ROCHE

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. 

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/ackman-made-back-130-million-on-hlf-2014-3#ixzz2vm9dYAN5

Herbalife Is Getting Slammed

By JULIA LA ROCHE

Shares of Herbalife have tumbled again today. 

The stock was last trading down more than 8%. 

The New York Post's Michelle Celarier just published an article about Chinese media outlet First Financial Daily having an investigative report on Herbalife. 

According to the Post, that article in China questions whether Herbalife's business practices are in accordance with Chinese laws.

The report in China is old, though.

It's from last August, according to the Post, which says it's only recently being noticed. 

Herbalife is a multi-level marketing company that sells nutritional products such as weight-loss shakes and supplements.

According to Herbalife's third-quarter earnings report, they had $136.65 million in sales in China versus $77.4 million in the same period for 2012. For the first nine months of 2013, sales increased to $323.2 million from $211.4 versus the same period in 2012. Herbalife reports fourth-quarter earnings next month. 

MLM NuSkin was recently the subject of a negative article in China that questioned its marketing practices. NuSkin's stock fell on that report.

Shares of Herbalife closed lower yesterday after Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey sent letters to the FTC and SEC calling on the regulators to investigate Herbalife's business practices. 

Herbalife is the stock that hedge fund manager Bill Ackman of Pershing Square is short. Ackman has publicly called the company a "pyramid scheme" and he thinks regulators will shut it down. 

Herbalife has refuted his allegations. 

Not everyone in the hedge fund world agrees with Ackman either. His long-time rival Carl Icahn is one of the biggest shareholders of Herbalife.  Icahn bought the stock after Ackman gave a 342-slide presentation about Herbalife in December 2012.  

Icahn has publicly said that he continues to think the company has a great business model and that it's undervalued. 

Yesterday, Icahn told Fox Business Network's Charlie Gasparino that he hasn't sold a share of his massive Herbalife stake. 

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/herbalife-is-getting-slammed-2014-1#ixzz2rPoYqbFs

Piden investigar a Herbalife por fraude

El Senador Edward Markey llamó ayer al regulador de valores de EEUU a investigar el modelo de negocios de Herbalife, recogiendo así denuncias de que la firma opera como un fraude de pirámide. La noticia golpeó el valor de las acciones de la compañía, que llegaron a retroceder hasta 15% durante la jornada, aunque hacia el cierre de la sesión recuperaron parte del terreno perdido para cerrar con una baja de 10,35%

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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,

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-ackman-air-products-international-2013-7#ixzz2adEJYjgM

Herbalife silencia con sólidos beneficios al gestor que denunciaba fraude

Fondo de Ackman ha perdido US$ 300 millones apostando en contra de la firma de productos naturales.

El gestor de fondo William Ackman podría necesitar alguna de las medicinas de Herbalife para el estrés, luego de que el alza en la acción de la compañía de productos naturales para la salud le provocara pérdidas por US$ 300 millones a su apuesta contra la firma.

Las acciones de Herbalife acumulan un alza de 30% desde que Pershing Square Capital Management, el hedge fund de Ackman de US$ 12 mil millones, comenzó por primera vez a realizar apuestas en corto en contra de la empresa, el año pasado, a la que calificó como un fraude de pirámide.

El inversionista denuncia que la principal fuente de ingresos de la firma no son sus productos, sino las comisiones que cobra a su cadena de vendedores.

Pero la compañía borró de un plumazo la dura polémica que se ha generado este año en torno a su modelo de ventas, anunciando positivos resultados.




Resultados en alza


Las ganancias de Herbalife del segundo trimestre apuntan a una positiva segunda mitad de 2013. La firma basada en Los Angeles elevó su pronóstico para la totalidad del ejercicio a ganancias ajustadas por acción en un rango de entre US$ 4,83 y US$ 4,95 desde el rango que anticipaba previamente de entre US$ 4,60 y US$ 4,80.

Las ventas netas aumentaron en 18% a US$ 1.200 millones, impulsadas por la fuerte demanda por sus productos y una mayor conciencia de los consumidores “de que necesitan contener sus alzas de peso”, dijo Des Walsh, presidente de la compañía. “La epidemia de obesidad siempre ha estado con nosotros, sólo ocurre que está empeorando. Lo que está ocurriendo es que los consumidores están aumentando su comprensión del impacto de la obesidad en sus vidas, longevidad y sus costos económicos”.

Herbalife superó las expectativas de los analistas para ganancias ajustadas por acción, arrojando resultados de US$ 1,41 comparado con los 
US$ 1,18 que esperaban en promedio los expertos consultados por Thomson Reuters.

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