A Wall Street Genius’s Final Investment Playbook

Chapter 177

After Ackman's broadcast, social media was engulfed in a storm of fierce debate.

From voices supporting Ackman to those saying, "Orca went too far this time. If that's exploitation, what pharmaceutical company isn't guilty?"

– You need profits to develop new drugs.

– Ackman supposedly owns 10% of Valeant shares. If they were truly evil, would he invest in them?

There were also voices criticizing his explanation.

– In the end, it's all about ‘we need to make money,' lol.

– A patient support program? So you help only the poor and squeeze the middle class?

– Anyone who brags about their foundation while talking about donations should be avoided at all costs.

Even so, Ackman's supporters, accusing Valeant of being an evil corporation over just one case of Wilson's disease, trusted the accomplishments and image Ackman had built as an investor.

It was truly a situation where neither side held the upper hand.

The whirlpool of confusion continued.

Meanwhile, the media didn’t miss the chance to cover this controversy.

[The Botox acquisition battle is full of drama, and there are only two weeks left until the tender offer closes. Who will come out on top?]

[The key lies in the shareholders’ choices. If we compare both sides’ approaches, Ackman appeals to reason and profitability, while Ha Si-heon appeals to ethics and emotion. But typically, shareholders place more weight on profit and rational judgment.]

[So you believe Ackman has the advantage?]

[It's not that simple. There's the variable of the boycott led by Ha Si-heon. If it spreads and Valeant's brand value crashes, shareholders can't ignore that.]

[Then you're saying Ha Si-heon also has a chance at winning.]

[It depends on the scale of the boycott. Right now, only Botox users and a small group sensitive to ethical consumption are involved. They may be loud, but they don’t even make up 10% of the population. That’s not enough to pressure shareholders effectively.]

To summarize?

If the boycott spreads further, it's my win.

If the current situation holds, it's Ackman's victory.

As the situation unfolded, the Allergan board of directors fell into deep thought.

“It's encouraging that Sean’s involvement increased support, but since the outcome remains uncertain, we need alternatives. Especially now that the Salixon acquisition has failed, we can't rely solely on public opinion.”

Originally, Allergan had planned to acquire a pharmaceutical company called Salixon.

If they could acquire another company and significantly increase Allergan’s valuation, it would raise the cost of Valeant acquiring Allergan as well.

However, during due diligence, it was discovered that Salixon had manipulated inventory records and inflated sales.

No matter how urgent things were, they couldn’t acquire a troubled company.

In the end, the Salixon acquisition fell through, and they had to start over in finding a new target.

Of course, I already knew about Salixon’s fraud.

But I let the board waste their time.

The reason was simple.

The closer the match, the more thrilling it becomes.

Did I ever mention?

A battle for public opinion is just like a drama.

If the protagonist wins too easily, it’s boring.

A true drama is when they win after a tense fight, cheered on by the audience.

Letting the Salixon issue slide was all to build that suspense.

“The problem is, we have only two weeks left until the tender offer deadline. Even if we find a new acquisition target, it’s impossible to complete it in time. The key now is to buy time. A legal injunction might be the only realistic option.”

This had also happened in my previous life.

A legal war.

“What do you think?”

“I support it.”

At my words, the board members nodded with relieved expressions.

By now, the board had come to trust me considerably.

They probably never expected me to go toe-to-toe with Ackman, the master of public opinion.

But just as the meeting was about to end, one board member cautiously raised a question.

“Will the media strategy continue in its current direction? If the stalemate continues like this…”

It wasn’t exactly doubt in my strategy, but they seemed uneasy about the precarious tightrope walk we were on.

Fair enough — it was about time to move to the next phase.

“Let’s discuss it again tomorrow. By tonight, the landscape will have changed.”

“Tonight? Are you going on another broadcast?”

“No. Someone else will be stepping up tonight.”

“Someone else… don’t tell me…?”

There was a flicker of anticipation in their eyes.

I nodded and continued.

“Yes, Mr. Icahn has agreed to appear.”

Public opinion wars needed spectacle.

Something like a spicy MSG for flavor.

In that sense, Icahn was the perfect man to deliver such drama.

“It’s Icahn!”

“What? Really?”

“No way… is this Round 2?”

At 9 p.m., the office was buzzing.

News had spread that Icahn was appearing on a broadcast, and employees excitedly gathered around the TV.

The same scene was probably unfolding in every office on Wall Street.

“He’s going to attack again, right?”

The verbal duel between Icahn and Ackman during the Herbalife debate last year had drawn explosive attention and was now considered legendary on Wall Street.

Unlike other investors who tried to act classy, those two had no qualms about trading insults and personal attacks.

They had been in a ceasefire for a year.

But when Ackman made statements supporting Valeant, Icahn jumped back into the ring.

There was a strange sense of anticipation on everyone’s faces.

What kind of biting words would he deliver this time?

The veteran performer didn’t disappoint his audience.

[Ackman is a hypocrite.]

Icahn’s opening line was sharp and direct.

What followed was a series of scathing criticisms aimed straight at Ackman.

[Ackman harshly criticized Herbalife, painting himself as a righteous investor. He claimed he was eliminating a pyramid scheme exploiting immigrants and low-income families.]

During the Herbalife short-selling campaign, Ackman had marketed himself as a virtuous investor.

It wasn’t just about profit — he claimed it was for the common good.

But now—

[Who is he siding with? Valeant. The company that buys rare disease drugs, jacks up the prices mercilessly, then uses the profits to buy even more drugs. Isn’t that the real pyramid scheme, holding patients’ lives hostage? A vampire—no, at least vampires are upfront about it. Ackman is just a mosquito, sneaking up to suck patients’ blood in secret.]

“Got it! Mosquito!”

A few traders cheered at the word, and Gonzalez stood up, handing out cash.

Seemed like there had been a bet.

Well, stuff like this was just another day on Wall Street.

Everyone here was a gambling addict in some form.

Anyway—

[Charity? Making money by exploiting patients’ lives and donating it to a charity — does that make it a good deed? It’s nothing but a show to polish his own image.]

Icahn continued his relentless attack.

The sight made me smile.

‘Knew I made the right call.’

I could’ve taken on Ackman myself, but Icahn was perfect for this role.

What I needed right now was influx.

The boycott I had triggered, by nature, was only attracting people of a certain tendency, but I needed a broader base of support.

If I stepped in now, it would only look like “Ha Si-heon vs. Ackman.”

But if Icahn stepped in?

— Season 2 of the legendary dogfight.

— Got wrecked last year, coming for revenge now?

— Grandpa’s out for blood, lol. Been sharpening his knife for a year?

A new crowd of spectators, eager for a fight, would come rushing in.

And they did. And they cheered.

— Claims to be righteous on the surface, but drains patients dry behind the scenes.

— Had a bad feeling from the start. The ones who act like heroes are usually filthier.

— Yelled about transparency, but secretly stockpiled shares through derivatives and dodged disclosure rules.

Most of the new audience were hurling insults at Ackman.

But they weren’t supporting me.

Not yet.

Some were thrilled by the catharsis of seeing hypocrisy exposed, while others just enjoyed tearing down successful people.

To draw these spectators to my side, I needed one more piece.

“Shall I pour some more oil on the fire?”

***

How do you make people take your side?

Do you make them like you?

No.

First, make them hate Ackman.

After all, humans feel hatred more easily than affection.

And as luck would have it, I had the perfect material to incite that hostility.

The next morning, a new headline covered the front page.

<Allergan Files Lawsuit Against Ackman and Valeant… “Their Alliance Is Insider Trading”>

Ackman and Valeant had secretly conspired to amass a large stake in Allergan.

The problem was that this alliance was in a legal gray zone.

Allergan’s CEO, Beckett, exposed the matter in a firm tone at a press conference.

“Before Valeant’s acquisition plan was made public, Ackman purchased a large amount of our stock. This is a transaction based on insider information, a clear violation of SEC Rule 10b-5. Illegally gained profits can never be justified.”

To rouse the public, you have to appeal to emotion.

And the strongest emotion is anger.

What makes people angry more than anything?

Injustice.

Beckett seemed to know that too, but his press conference failed to create much of a stir.

The reason was simple.

“This lawsuit isn’t just to protect Allergan. It’s a fight for fairness in the financial market. We will never tolerate such behavior and will respond with every legal measure available.”

His words were too focused on noble ideals.

“That’s not how you do it.”

People react more strongly to injustice they feel personally.

In other words, I needed to make this issue personal to them.

So, a few hours later, I appeared on a broadcast.

“When news of a merger hits the market, the stock price of the company being acquired usually rises. Some of you probably track such news closely, hoping to profit from it. But while you were carefully analyzing the news, Ackman already heard about the acquisition directly from Valeant and swiftly began buying shares.”

I targeted everyday investors — those who followed the news daily and tried to act quickly.

In my story, they were all victims.

“And that’s not all. What about the shareholders who sold their Allergan stock to Ackman? If they had known about the acquisition plan, would they have sold at that price? Of course not. They would’ve waited for the acquisition premium.”

People who sold before Allergan’s stock jumped and missed the windfall.

They were also victims.

“At the time, Allergan’s stock was about $125. As the takeover progressed, it rose to $166. Maverick Investments has already earned a 33% return — that’s approximately $1.23 billion in profit.”

They say nothing stings like your cousin buying land.

But what if that cousin illegally bought land and made $1.23 billion in the process?

“Did this information gap result from Ackman’s research skills? No. He heard it directly from Valeant’s CEO — insider information. Could the average person watching the news have accessed this info at the same time? No. They couldn’t sit down for a 1:1 conversation with Valeant’s CEO.”

I stared straight into the camera and declared:

“The reason Ackman was able to make $1.23 billion — it’s because he used insider information, available only to the top 1% with access to CEOs. As a result, the remaining 99% ended up paying the price.”

There was a reason I deliberately mentioned the 1% and the 99%.

It was the slogan of the Occupy Wall Street protests.

The greed of the 1% is crushing the 99%!

A little blunt?

Well, propaganda is most effective when it’s straightforward.

“Let’s see if they stay silent now.”

Even though the Occupy movement had quieted down, the anger and resentment it had sparked were just waiting for a little fuel to reignite.

And I was right.

— Same old 1% tyranny. 33% returns? While those of us who follow the rules barely manage 0.3%?

— Seize every cent Ackman made.

— Why do we just sit and watch this?

#UnfairTrading

People who had just been mocking Ackman lightly began raising their voices in anger.

Because the wounds and rage left by the financial crisis had come back to life.

“Is this enough for the influx I wanted?”

The ones who were furious now weren’t Botox users or ethical consumers who had supported me from the start.

They were individual investors interested in the stock market.

Meanwhile, Ackman, realizing the situation was turning bad, quickly issued a statement.

“The insider trading accusation is a complete misunderstanding. We followed legal procedures thoroughly and consulted legal counsel beforehand to ensure compliance.”

He emphasized that his actions were within the law and tried to assert his legitimacy.

But it backfired.

—Ackman says it’s legal? Then the law must be broken.

— “Strictly legal” = laws made for the 1%.

— Wall Street “friends” still control the game.

— Only the wealthy can win a rigged system.

— He’ll just pay a fine and keep the profits.

To the angry public, his words sounded like this:

“The law is on my side.”

Thus, the perception that nothing could be solved within the existing system grew stronger.

To realize true justice, a new approach was needed.

“Is the stage ready now?”

At last, it was time for the real protagonist to step forward.

I returned to the stage.

“Ackman and Valeant’s business model is not sustainable, and it should not be allowed to continue. We believe such predatory practices must be stopped — and they will be stopped.”

Every story needs a protagonist.

And in this case, the one requirement for the protagonist was simple:

Someone who could carry out justice that everyone would want to cheer for.

And right now, the victims were yearning for one thing.

To strip Ackman of his unjust gains and overturn the rigged game he created.

I looked straight at the camera and declared firmly:

“And so… Pareto Innovation has initiated a short position against Valeant. The scale is one billion dollars.”