Though he does not hold put options on the stock, which was indirectly suggested by Herbalife CEO Michael Johnson, Ackman is within the realm of legality to disclose his position. When talking about just how bearish he was on Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) on Bloomberg Television yesterday, the fund manager mentioned the following: “It is enormous. It is over 20 million shares…We are short over 20 million shares.”
Assuming he established the position in late May, this position was worth somewhere in the range of $900 million, meaning that the recent selloff has netted Ackman a profit of at least $250 million, with high estimates near $300 million. Now, consider these figures, and then realize that Herbalife’s entire market capitalization is near $3.5 billion. Wow.
On Bloomberg TV, Ackman described how many have incorrectly claimed that his “pyramid scheme” accusations are only aimed at manipulating the stock. To prove that he frankly doesn’t care about profiting from his position, he even mentioned that he would donate his own profits to charity.
Continue reading to see just what he said..
He said the following:
“We don’t want to be making money while other people have been harmed. We would rather have the money go to people who have been harmed. The mission of the Pershing Square Foundation is to help people, some who have trouble helping themselves…I think short selling is a very noble thing. It’s very difficult. You have enormous critics who say you are shorting the stock because he’s going to make a profit if it goes down. They never think twice if someone buys a stock and then says why he likes it. People don’t view that as a negative activity.”
Just to be clear, it’s likely that the “people” Ackman is discussing in this quote’s first sentence are not just those who’ve been hurt by Herbalife’s selloff, but customers of the company as well. Moreover, it’s not known exactly what percentage of total profits Ackman will receive from the short, but the sheer size of the Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) transaction indicates it will be substantial.
What’s even more interesting is what Ackman said when he was asked what he thought of Michael Johnson’s public comments on CNBC (which we covered on Wednesday), that “The United States will be better when Bill Ackman is gone.” On the subject, Ackman had this to say (emphasis added):
“You know, you have to ask yourself…It is a strange and scary thing to say for the CEO of a NYSE-listed legitimate company. I never had a company react — even look at MBIA. They were very professional…If people are very concerned about their circumstances of the behavior or the decisions they made or if they are operating illegally, that is the kind of thing you might say on international TV. I think it was a very unusual thing for him to say. I am obviously concerned about my personal safety, other people’s personal safety. But when the CEO of a public company makes threatening statements, you have to ask yourself, why would he possibly say something like that?”
Now, to be fair, Johnson made that comment in the context of Ackman’s original claim that the U.S. would be better with Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) gone, periphrastically speaking, but we admit it is a bit odd to see an executive make an off-the-cuff response like that.
Last but certainly not least, Ackman told Bloomberg TV that “We welcome them suing us,” saying that “we get access to inside information on Herbalife that we can prove that we are telling the truth.”
Adding more weight to his words, he said that “This is the highest conviction I have ever had about any investment I have ever made, full stop.”
To stay updated on this situation, check back at Insider Monkey, and be sure to check out our previous coverage of the Ackman/Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) battle:
Herbalife CEO on Bill Ackman: ‘We Want the SEC to Take Action’
