William A. Ackman’s giant financial bet against Herbalife is being played out in the corridors of government, Michael S. Schmidt, Eric Lipton and Alexandra Stevenson report in The New York Times. The reporters found that Mr. Ackman’s team had “organized protests, news conferences and letter-writing campaigns in California, Nevada, Connecticut, New York and Illinois, and several of the people who signed the letters to state and federal officials say they do not remember sending them.â€
His team has also paid civil rights organizations at least $130,000 to join his effort by helping him collect the names of people who claimed they were victimized by Herbalife to send the leads to regulators, the examination found. He also provided the money used by some of these individuals to travel to Washington to participate in one anti-Herbalife rally last month.
Here are some of the crucial events in the fight over Herbalife:
Dec. 20, 2012: Mr. Ackman of Pershing Square details in public his bet against Herbalife, calling the company a pyramid scheme. The three-hour presentation sends Herbalife’s stock price into a major decline. He releases a 334-page presentation, detailing his case against the company.
Jan. 9, 2013: A hedge fund rival, Daniel S. Loeb, takes the other side of Mr. Ackman’s trade, disclosing that his firm Third Point has an 8.2 percent stake in Herbalife. Third Point would then sell most of its stake in April, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Jan. 9, 2013 The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal report that the S.E.C. has opened an investigation into Herbalife.
Jan. 16, 2013: The Wall Street Journal reports that investor Carl C. Icahn has taken a stake in Herbalife. (On Jan. 25, Mr. Icahn appears on CBNC for a half-hour and trades barbs with Mr. Ackman.
Feb. 14, 2013: Shares of Herbalife rise after it is disclosed that Mr. Icahn’s stake is 12.98 percent.
Early 2013: Pershing Square representatives meet with Securities and Exchange Commission officials to urge them to investigate Herbalife.
Early 2013: Mr. Ackman and his lobbyists organize a series of meetings with lawmakers and their staffs to encourage them to call on federal regulators to investigate Herbalife. Meetings are held with the offices of Representatives Linda Sánchez, Democrat of California, Loretta Sanchez, Democrat of California, Peter King, Republican of New York, and Senator Ed Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, who was then in the House.
June 5, 2013: Representative Linda Sánchez writes to the Federal Trade Commission, asking it to investigate Herbalife.
June 6, 2013: At an “idea dinner†at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse in Midtown Manhattan, Mr. Ackman tells other hedge fund managers that Ms. Sánchez has sent a letter to the trade commission, saying that this is evidence that Herbalife’s stock price will go lower.
Aug. 29, 2013: A Latina advocacy group, MANA, writes to Edith Ramirez, the chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, asking her to investigate Herbalife.
Oct. 2, 2013: Mr. Ackman says in a letter to investors that he has converted roughly 40 percent of his $1 billion position in Herbalife to long-term dated put options, increasing the size of his profits were the company to collapse before the options expired.
Oct. 18, 2013 Latino activists urge the California attorney general to investigate Herbalife as dozens of protesters, some with signs saying “Stop Exploiting Us,†stand outside the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Nov. 21, 2013: The League of United Latin American Citizens, the Federation of United Michoacan Clubs of Nevada and nonprofit legal organization Hermandad Mexicana call publicly for an investigation after sending letters earlier in the month to the Nevada attorney general.
Jan. 23, 2014: Senator Markey sends letters to the S.E.C. and the trade commission asking them to investigate Herbalife.
Feb. 21, 2014: Herbalife holds a briefing on Capitol Hill to educate congressional staffers about the company.
