Billionaire activist investor William Ackman has had his share of rough investments. He had trouble getting retailer JC Penney to turn itself around and his investment in Valeant, the drug company that Warren Buffett called a “Wall Street scheme”, is one Ackman admittedly regrets.
Valeant became — along with Martin Shkreli — a poster child for pharma companies buying old drugs and jacking the prices on consumers who rely on them. Now with former CEO J. Michael Pearson out and new chief Joseph C. Papa in the hot seat, Ackman is hoping the company can be fixed. It might be easier to fix Valeant ethically than financially. Because in talking to CNBC, Ackman — who joined the Valeant board recently — said, “I think it’s wrong to buy a drug and mark the price up 5X.” Papa will have to find another way to lead Valeant to stability.
Bill Ackman: No plans for Valeant to sell any ‘crown jewel’ type assets https://t.co/0Mwulh5HpY pic.twitter.com/GsRpmZ3HKp
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) May 2, 2016
