How Carl Icahn could create value with this health company, which has many valua…

Bausch Health Companies Inc, formerly Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, is a Canada-based company that develops, manufactures and markets a range of branded and generic pharmaceuticals, medical devices and over-the-counter products. It primarily develops products in the therapeutic areas of eye health, gastroenterology and dermatology. Its dermatology products treat a range of conditions, including actinic keratosis, acne, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and other dermatoses. It also offers a selection of aesthetic medical devices that address a variety of conditions, including facial wrinkles, acne, pigmentation conditions and laser hair removal, among others. The gastrointestinal (GI) segment offers products that treat GI and hepatologic conditions, including hepatic encephalopathy, irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea and ulcerative colitis, among others. Its eye health products are marketed in the following categories: Contact Lens, Pharmaceutical Products and Surgical.

Stock Market Value: $11.3 billion ($31.93 per share)

Activist Commentary: Carl Icahn is the grandfather of shareholder activism and a true pioneer of the strategy. While he is not slowing down at all, he recently reached an agreement with his son, Brett Icahn, to rejoin the firm as the eventual successor. Brett hired three portfolio managers to help him look for the firm’s next activist target and this is Icahn’s first 13D filing since Brett rejoined the firm. Brett has said that he plans to employ his father’s favored approach of pushing companies to make changes designed to boost their stock prices, though he hasn’t ruled out friendly bets too. This is not a departure from the strategy Carl has succeeded with for many years. He can be friendly (i.e., Apple, Netflix) or he can be confrontational (i.e., Forest Labs, Biogen), often it depends on the response of management. Brett is an impressive activist investor in his own right, not because he is Carl’s son, but because he has demonstrated a long track record of extremely successful activist investing. Much has been written about the Sargon Portfolio he co-headed at Icahn, which at one time totaled around $7 billion and included extremely profitable investments in companies such as Netflix Inc. and Apple Inc. The Saragon Portfolio significantly outperformed the market with an annualized return of 27%. However, prior to that Brett started in 2002 with Icahn as an analyst and was later responsible for campaigns like Hain Celestial (280.3% return versus 46.7% for the S&P500), Take Two Interactive (81.5% versus 64.5%) and Mentor Graphics (106.4% versus 79.4%).