Icahn Takes Large Stake In Allergan, Supports CEO

(RTTNews) - Shares of Allergan plc (AGN) rose in early trades Tuesday after billionaire investor Carl Icahn said he recently acquired a "large position" in the Botox maker and was very supportive of CEO Brent Saunders.

Icahn did not disclose details of the stake he acquired in Allergan, but expressed confidence in Saunders' ability to enhance value for all Allergan shareholders.

Icahn was instrumental in bringing Saunders on board as the new CEO of Forest Laboratories a few years ago. Forest Labs was acquired by Actavis, which was subsequently acquired by Allergan for $70.5 billion in cash and stock in 2015, resulting in massive gains for Forest shareholders.

"While we at that time disposed of our position in Forest, we still have always maintained great respect for Brent. We have every confidence in Brent's ability to enhance value for all Allergan shareholders," Icahn said in a statement on his website.

In April, drug maker Pfizer Inc. (PFE) that its $160 billion merger deal with Allergan was terminated by mutual agreement of the two companies. The company's decision comes after new rules were announced by the U.S. Treasury to curb corporate tax inversions.

Allergan, which is run from New Jersey but has a legal domicile in Dublin, last year agreed to merge with Pfizer in a deal that would have given New York-based Pfizer a foreign address and a lower tax rate.

However, Icahn was against the Pfizer-Allergan deal and had urged the U.S. Congress to stop tax inversions. He noted that the planned exodus of U.S. companies out of the country was extremely dangerous as it would cause the loss of thousands of jobs, as well as hundreds of billions of dollars of future tax revenue and investment in the U.S.

AGN is trading at $238.85, up $2.91 or 1.23 percent on a volume of 1.87 million shares.