HLF Battle: Icahn Calls Herbalife Great Opportunity, Ackman is “Unfair”

The battle between Carl Icahn and Bill Ackman over Herbalife (

Icahn recently filed a disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission that shows he bought more than 14 million shares of the nutritional supplement marketer. Through common shares and options, Icahn has a 13 percent stake in the company. After extensive research, he believes Herbalife has a legitimate business model with favorable long-term opportunities for growth, while Ackman is short more than 20 million shares, because he believes it is a pyramid scheme.

On Friday, Icahn appeared on CNBC to further discuss his position, despite saying last month he would never do a show with Scott Wapner again. On the show, Icahn said he buys companies that are undervalued, and he believes Ackman has provided him a “great opportunity” with Herbalife. Icahn says he has done a “hell of a lot of research on this.” He also criticizes Ackman for being “unfair” and essentially going after the employees and shareholders of Herbalife through his actions.