Valeant's Bausch and Lomb: To Sell Or Not To Sell?

As the world watches and waits for Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc VRX’s next move, activist investor and new Valeant board member Bill Ackman says that that move will not involve the sale of Bausch & Lomb. Ackman cleared up the Bausch & Lomb issue in an interview with CNBC following reports by FOX Business Network’s Charlie Gasparino that Valeant is “actively discussing” a Bausch & Lomb sale.

“It’s a core asset,” Ackman said of Bausch & Lomb. “We’re only considering selling non-core assets.”

As recently as March 9, prior to joining the board, Ackman raised the possibility of Valeant selling Bausch & Lomb, calling it a “very valuable standalone business” in a Bloomberg interview.

Related Link: Valeant Bull Case ($70?) Is Now All About The Next CEO

Ackman’s Valeant losses, including a reported $1 billion paper loss in one day last month, have been highly-publicized. However, Ackman’s commitment to the bull case for Valeant has never wavered. Ackman told investors this week that he still expects to make back his Valeant losses in time.

Valeant’s stock now trades at an extreme discount to peers, but fears over the company’s drug pricing model, potential accounting misstatements and ties to specialty pharmacy Philidor have the market spooked.

Shares of Valeant are down 2.8 percent in early trading on Friday following a 20 percent surge in the last two trading sessions. Valeant remains down 82.6 percent in the past year.

Disclosure: the author holds no position in the stocks mentioned.