The Ira Sohn conference -- one of the most closely-watched
investor conferences of the year -- kicks off Monday afternoon.
Some of the biggest names in the hedge-fund world -- Greenlight
Capital's David Einhorn, Omega Advisors' Leon Cooperman, Pershing
Square Capital Management's William Ackman, and many more -- will
take the stage to deliver a mix of stock picks, companies they're
betting against, and macro investment ideas. All of this is for the
benefit of the Ira Sohn foundation, which finances initiatives to
cure and treat pediatric cancer.
Stock prices will rise and fall as these investors state their
opinions. MoneyBeat will bring you all the presentations live from
Lincoln Center.
6:02 pm | Ackman Calls Valeant an Early-Stage Berkshire Hathaway
| by Maureen Farrell
Bill Ackman closes out his presentation by comparing Valeant to
Berkshire Hathaway - an early-stage version of Berkshire. In
summary he said investors know how to value traditional companies
on a multiple of expected earnings. They don't understand platform
companies or have a good model for figuring out where their stock
might go.
Mr. Ackman wrapped up relatively quickly. It seems he didn't
need Mr. Tepper's extra time.
5:58 pm | Ackman Says Valeant Was Cheaper After Salix Deal | by
Maureen Farrell
Valeant's stock shot up when it announced its deal to buy Salix
Pharmaceuticals. Even after jumping more than $30 per share, Mr.
Ackman said it was cheaper to buy Valeant after that deal taking
into account added revenue and earnings.
5:56 pm | Ackman Says Valeant Could Ink a Huge Number of
Possible Deals | by Maureen Farrell
Wall Street, he said, still doesn't understand the Valeant
story. They could do a huge number of transactions he said. Every
time they do a deal, the stock jumps, he said. The market seems to
be continually be behind on Valeant's real value and plays catch up
every time it does a deal. Shareholders he said shouldn't be
allowed to make as much money as they have on Valeant. They've done
so because the market doesn't understand Valeant or its platform
business model.
5:50 pm | Ackman Talks Another Martin Franklin Company | by
Maureen Farrell
Mr. Ackman takes a look at a so-calledNomad Holdings Ltd.,
founded by Jarden's CEO and chairman, recently announced that would
buy Iglo Foods Holdings Ltd., owner of the Birds Eye and Findus
frozen food brands, for 2.6 billion euros ($2.8 billion) from a
company backed by Permira funds. The stock of Nomad Holdings shot
up 80%.
Investors don't really understand platform companies. He doesn't
understand why Nomad and Jarden are valued in different ways.
5:46 pm | Ackman Calls Jarden Undervalue | by Maureen
Farrell
Mr. Ackman says that analysts and investors have always been
wrong about the consumer-products companyJardenCorp. It's been
perennially undervalued by the market, similar, he said, to how the
market undervalues Berkshire Hathaway.
5:42 pm | It's Ackman TimeT | by Maureen Farrell
The final speaker is Pershing Square Capital Management LP's
founder Bill Ackman. First up the audience learns that $4 million
has been raised by the foundation to fight pediatric cancer.
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