Allergan CEO led smear campaign against Valeant: Ackman

Allergan CEO David Pyott personally led a campaign of “misconduct” to fend off a $55 billion hostile bid from Vale෴ant Pharmaceuticals, activist Bill Ackman and Valeanﷺt claim in new court papers.

Pyot꧑t also overrode a member of his management team who raised concerns about spreading false and misleading information to drive down Valeant’s share price, according to the papers.

As part of its bid to discredit Valeant, Allergan questioned Valeant’s accounting, but backed down when asked to p🥃roduce the expert it was using for its critique, the documents show.

“After baselessly trashing Valea🌄nt’s accounting for months… Allergan chose not to expose its alleged accounting expert to cross-examination in this litigation,” Ackman’s lawyers said.

Last week, Ackman said he had evidence Allergan lied in its effort to smear Valeant, and the 💖papers filed late Monday in California federal court elaborate on his claim.

Valeant and Ackman’s Pershing Square hedge fund, Allergan’s largest shareholder, joined forces earlier this year to pursue a $55 billion joint b🍨id for Allergan.

Beyond bad-♉mouthing Valeant’s accounting, the Botox maker has fought back by suing Valeant and Ackman for insider trading and trying to round up another merger partner.

The new information came to light in September, when Allergen 🐓produced over 4,200 pages of documents that included communications between Allergan’s executives concerning Valeant’s business model, the court filings show.

In addition, lawyers for Ackman and Valeant deposed five Allergan executives and board members, including its current💎 CEO, CFO and lead independent director in October.

In August, Allergan sued Ackman,🅠 Pershing Square and Valeant, claiming they broke insider trading laws in their offer to buy Allerga𒐪n.

Valeant 🦂and Ackman countersued, saying Allergan violated securities laws, and amended tꦆheir claim with the new details.

A hearing on Allergan’s request for a preliminary injunction is set for Oct. 28. Allergan hopes to keep Ackman from voting his Allergan shares, which amount to a🐭lmost 10 percent of the company, at a special shareholder meeting 𒐪to be held Dec. 18.

Ac𝔉kman 💎called the shareholder meeting in hopes of ousting six members of the board and paving the way to accept Valeant’s offer.

Separately, recent turmoil in the deal market has cast new questions over the ultimate outcome. Another top Allergan shareholder, John Paulson, who was keen on th▨e merger with Valeant, appears to have changed his mind.

Paulson now wants Allergaꦓn to pursue a deal for Irish drugmaker Shire, as Paulson’s $2 billion investment in that drug maker tanked last week when AbbVie’s $55 billion offer for it was withdrawn because of the crackdown on tax-inversion deals.