Activist investor Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Holdings and Valeant Pharmaceuticals have agreed to pay $290 million to settle investor claims that they engaged in insider trading in the unsuccessful 2014 takeover bid for Allergan.
In April 2015, Valeant Pharmaceuticals and hedge fund manager Ackman made an unsolicited $47 billion bid for Allergan. After numerous complications and lawsuits, the messy acquisition attempt finally ended with Actavis stepping in months later, acquiring Allergan for $66B -- $12B more than Valeant's takeover bid attempt. In the lawsuit, Allergan shareholders claimed that they were tricked when Ackman bought their shares with the secret knowledge Valeant was planning a hostile bid.
While Ackman and Valeant continue to deny that the case has any merit, the two companies agreed to divide the payout, with Pershing Square paying $193.75 million and Valeant paying $96.25 million.
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