Pershing Square Discloses Sale Of Valeant Shares To 'Generate A Tax Loss In 2016 For Their Investors'

A 13D filing that Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square submitted with the SEC showed a marked reduction in the firm’s exposure to Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc VRX.

Pershing, which was the largest institutional shareholder of record in the company as of the end of the third quarter of 2016, disclosed after Tuesday's close that Pershing Square and Pershing Square II had respectively sold 3,359,178 shares and 117,512 shares of high-cost-basis Common Stock, seeking to “generate a tax loss in 2016 for their investors.”

In addition, the filing continued, Pershing Square acquired to close the $165.00 strike call options that it had previously sold short, back in November of 2015.

On the other hand, the document pointed out, the firm’s two offshore funds did not sell any shares of Valeant.

The firm currently owns an aggregate of 27,234,432 shares of Valeant’s Common Stock: 18,114,432 shares, and 9,120,000 shares underlying listed American-style call options. This position accounts for roughly 7.8 percent of the company’s total shares outstanding.

Finally, Pershing Square disclosed that they “unwound (through a purchase to close transaction) over-the-counter European-style call options referencing a total of 9,120,000 shares of Common Stock which had an expiration date of January 20, 2017.”