Morning Agenda: Herbalife vs. Activist: Just Maybe He’s Right
ByHERBALIFE VS. ACTIVIST: JUST MAYBE HE’S RIGHT Bill Ackman, the activist investor, has been painted as a loser in his quest to shut down Herbalife, the nutritional supplement company, but a Federal Trade Commission’s complaint has vindicated his claims, Andrew Ross Sorkin writes.
Herbalife was responsible for “deceiving hundreds of thousands of hopeful people,” said Edith Ramirez, who oversees the F.T.C. “The small minority of Herbalife distributors who did make a lot of money were paid by Herbalife not for selling the company’s products, but for buying the products themselves and then successfully recruiting large networks of others to do the same.”
There have been questions about Mr. Ackman’s tactics, lobbying regulators and members of Congress, as well as moral questions about “shorting,” or betting against a company’s stock, but this does seem to be an example where an investor acted as a check on the market…
Morning Agenda: Herbalife vs. Activist: Just Maybe He’s Right
