Billionaire activist investor Bill Ackman today said that Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc — a company he is a major investor in — has terrible public relations, and named major PR firm Sard Verbinnen as having done a "horrible job."
During a four-hour conference call, Ackman said one of the reasons the company's stock is at a two-year low is "They need help on the PR side," and the company needs to spend more on PR.
Ackman continued that Sard Verbinnen has done a "fabulous job" for Herbalife and a "horrible" job representing Valeant. Ackman added they may be "too distracted" by Herbalife.
Notably, the campaign Sard runs for Herbalife is against Ackman, of Pershing Square Capital, who has called Herbalife a pyramid scheme. In that campaign, Ackman is represented by Global Strategy Group and Edelman.
As Vanity Fair noted: "On March 12, The Wall Street Journal reported that both the F.B.I. and the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York were looking into whether 'people, including some hired by Mr. Ackman' had made 'false statements' about Herbalife and its business in order to 'spur investigations' into the company and to lower its stock price."
Ackman's dispute with Sard Verbinnen started well before today's conference call — which has already been covered by Bloomberg, Business Insider, and others.
Editor's note (2026 update)
The Ackman-Herbalife saga concluded in 2018 when Ackman exited his Herbalife short position at a substantial loss. Valeant Pharmaceuticals rebranded as Bausch Health Companies in 2018. Sard Verbinnen merged with Finsbury Glover Hering and Hering Schuppener to form FGS Global in February 2021. The crisis-and-special-situations work that defined Sard Verbinnen's mid-2010s practice remains the firm's most-cited capability. For the canonical EPR profile, see Sard Verbinnen & Co — Agency Profile.
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
