Hedge fund Paulson & Co declares 6.3 percent stake in Valeant: Reuters

New York-based hedge fund Paulson & Co on Monday reported a 6.3 percent stake in Canada’s Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.

The disclosure comes a week after billionaire investor John Paulson, whose hedge fund firm is the biggest owner of Valeant, joined the company’s board as it restructures to repay debt.

The hedge fund had a 5.7 percent stake in Valeant as of March 31.

Paulson & Co has suffered heavy losses as Valeant’s stock price plummeted some 96 percent since mid-2015 after the drug-maker became embroiled in an accounting scandal and was investigated for hefty price hikes.

In March, ValueAct Capital also raised its stake in Valeant, making it the second-biggest stakeholder in the company, days after Valeant’s largest shareholder, Pershing Square Capital Management, sold out of the stock.

Update: Earlier this month, Valeant said it would sell its iNova Pharmaceuticals unit to a company jointly owned by Pacific Equity Partners and Carlyle Group. The deal is valued at US$930 million.

(Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Edited by Martina D’Couto)

(This story has been edited by Kirk Falconer, editor of PE Hub Canada)

Photo courtesy of Reuters/Brendan McDermid