It is going from bad to worse for Bill Ackman
Another one of the hedge fund titan's big stock holdings is taking a hit.
Platform Specialty Products fell 9.8% to about $10.40 per share after the company said that its CEO Dan Leever will retire.
Ackman's Pershing Square Capital owns 42,737,394 shares, or a 20.3% stake in the company.
He publicly disclosed the stake on June 29. The share price close that day was $29.59, valuing his position at the time at $1.2 billion. The position now is worth about $496.5 million.
The stock is down about 18% this week. Year to date, the stock is down more than 55%. The stock is down more than 61% since Ackman revealed his position.
Ackman is an activist investor who's primarily a long-only investor, though he's been shorting Herbalife for nearly three years. He's known for taking a handful of large positions in companies and pushing for changes from management.
Ackman has suffered huge losses this week on his biggest position, Valeant Pharmaceuticals.
Here's the press release from Platform:
Platform Specialty Products Corporation (NYSE:PAH) ("Platform"), a global specialty chemicals company, announced today that Daniel H. Leever, Chief Executive Officer of the company, has indicated his intention to retire from the company once a suitable successor has been hired. Until such appointment, the Company's senior management, including Benjamin H. Gliklich, Chief Operating Officer, and Sanjiv Khattri, Chief Financial Officer, will report to the Office of the Chairman, comprised of Martin E. Franklin, Platform's Founder and Chairman, and Mr. Leever.
Martin E. Franklin commented, "Dan has played a pivotal role in the creation of Platform and it is a testament to his energy, passion and "builder" mentality that Platform's annualized, pro forma revenues will have grown five fold from 2013 to 2015, including the impending acquisitions of OMG and Alent. With the upcoming closing of the Alent transaction, we respect Dan's decision that it is the right time for a new generation of leadership to continue the vision. Dan has contributed enormously to Platform's early success, and the values and performance of our first acquisition, the MacDermid business, set a high standard for all the other specialty chemical businesses within our group. A sign of a great leader is that he helps find a successor who can continue the positive momentum in the business and Dan is fully engaged in helping identify a new, extremely high caliber CEO for Platform."
Daniel H. Leever added, "It is with very mixed feelings that I reached the decision that this is the best time for the business and me personally to retire from the responsibilities involved with day to day operations. I believe in Martin's vision for Platform and am proud that I have been able to contribute to its past success and help lay a strong foundation for its continued success. While I'll surely miss the day to day interactions with the incredible employees who lay the foundation for all of Platform's success, I strongly believe that it is the right time for a new person to take over the reins of day to day operations and to be able to set out a clear execution strategy for the next years of consistent, profitable growth."
Here's the stock chart:
