Finance

Bill Ackman Has Made Over $2.2 Billion On A Deal That's Arguably A Failure

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Bill Ackman
Bill Ackman.  YouTube / Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

The Irish pharmaceutical company Actavis is buying Allergan for $219 per share in a cash and stock deal valued at $66 billion. 

For months, Allergan has worked to fend off a hostile bid from the Canadian pharmaceutical company Valeant and activist investor Bill Ackman.

All of Ackman and Valeant's offers had been rejected. The most recent bid for the Botox-maker was $53 billion.

Even though Valeant was unsuccessful in its takeover attempt, Ackman is still getting a massive payout. 

Ackman, who runs Pershing Square Capital, last held 28,878,538 shares of Allergan, according to his fund's most recent 13F filing.

Since he first disclosed his stake back in April, shares of Allergan have surged

According to our calculations, Ackman has made more than $2.28 billion on his position in Allergan. He started buying Allergan stock back in February, so it's probably even higher. 

Ackman doesn't own any shares of Valeant. 

Meanwhile, Ackman recently disclosed a large stake in the animal health company Zoetis.

Zoetis is seen as a potential takeover target. Shares of Zoetis were trading up more than 2.10% on Monday.

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Julia is formerly a senior reporter covering finance. She wrote for Business Insider from 2011 to 2016. She studied broadcast journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.While at UNC, she contributed to the award-winning student-run newscast "Carolina Week" as a reporter. She was a member of the university’s equestrian team competing in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. She is a member of the New York Junior League. She volunteers with Project Sunshine and is a mentor to an area high-school student via Futures & Options.Julia is a Half Ironman finisher and a New York City Marathon finisher. She was Miss New York United States 2014.