Carl Icahn came out swinging against Bill Ackman on Friday, saying that the hedge fund manager is "obsessed" with Herbalife and has no right to comment on Icahn's investments.
Read the full statement below:
Over the years many investment bankers, including Jefferies, that specialize in block trades frequently make bids for our large positions. But completely contrary to what Bill Ackman stated on television today, I have never given Jefferies an order to sell any of our Herbalife shares. Last month we publicly disclosed that Herbalife granted us permission to go up to 35%. At the time of the disclosure, Ackman declared that I have no interest in increasing my position in Herbalife. This was obviously another misstatement of the facts by Ackman since today I bought another 2.3 million shares. I continue to believe in Herbalife: it's a great model that creates a great number of jobs for people. Ackman may be a smart guy but he has clearly succumbed to the same dangerous (and sometimes fatal) malady that afflicts many investors – he's developed a very bad case of "Herbalife obsession". Obsessions concerning the value of stocks are the undoing of many investors because they often blind you to the facts, and it becomes impossible to see the forest for the trees. Watching Ackman on television today is a perfect example of this "obsession". A month ago he declared that I'd never buy more Herbalife stock, which obviously turned out to be completely wrong. Today, he said I'm done with my Herbalife investment and that I'm a seller. Obviously wrong, again. It amazes me that a guy who hasn't any knowledge of my internal investment thinking believes he is in a position to go on television to tell the world what I AM thinking! Amazing! He has no right to do so, and even worse, I'm sure his unsubstantiated, obsessive comments, especially about Herbalife, have cost investors a great deal of money over the last few years.