Shares of pharmaceutical company Valeant (BHC 2.59%) have remained steady today despite the recent drama surrounding its acquisition of Allergan (NYSE: AGN) maker of Botox. According to Motley Fool analyst Michael Douglass, Valeant has been attempting to acquire Allergan for months now, but to no avail. However, Bill Ackman and his Pershing Square Capital fund own about 10% of Allergan, and Ackman has been pushing hard for a deal with Valeant -- in fact, he's called for the replacement of the majority of Allergan's board of directors in order to get the deal done.
So, what's an investor to do in the midst of all this back and forth? Valeant's way of doing business is to acquire other drugmakers that have products in late-stage trials and then bring those products to market for a profit. While this has worked for the company in the past, Michael doesn't think it's a good idea for investors to make a bet on an acquisition that may not work. If they think there's a good fundamental reason for investing in Valeant, as Michael does, then great; otherwise, stay away.
