EXCLUSIVE: Hedge funder Kyle Bass is at war with big pharma, but he's long on this one pharma stock
(REUTERS/Brendan McDermid) J. Kyle Bass.
Hedge-fund manager J. Kyle Bass has snapped up a large long position in Perrigo, an Irish manufacturer of over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, Business Insider has learned.
Perrigo (PRGO) is now Hayman Capital's second-largest equity position.
Perrigo makes store-brand OTC products and generic prescriptions. It also makes store-brand infant formula.
This is significant because Bass has been at war with the US pharmaceutical industry since the beginning of the year.
So far in 2015 he has filed 13 inter partes review (IPR) petitions with the US Patent and Trademark Office challenging the patents of six publicly traded pharma companies.
It's part of a new "short activist strategy" where Bass writes an IPR challenging the validity of a patent, while also shorting the company's stock.
For this, Bass has set up a separate pharmacy vehicle within his fund. The idea is it will end "pay for delay" for drugmakers and ultimately lower drug prices.
UPDATE: Bass confirmed during a panel discussion at the SALT Conference that he's long Perrigo.
"Perrigo is an interesting long," he said.
Bass believes that Mylan really wants to buy Perrigo, but he doesn't think that they will be successful.
"I think there are some other bidders out there. One that makes the most sense is Abbott...Abbott sold its generics to Mylan. Abbott is hte best in class...There are a lot of synergies there."
NOW WATCH: All The Amazon Haters Need To Hear This Quote From Warren Buffett
More From Business Insider