John Paulson’s Paulson & Co. opened a $750.9 million position in pharmaceutical giant AbbVie Inc.ABBV +0.58% and nearly tripled its shares in Dublin-based Shire SHPG +0.10% PLC in the third quarter, according to a securities filing Friday.
AbbVie’s board recently withdrew its support for the $54 billion takeover bid for Irish pharmaceutical company Shire due to new tax rules in the U.S., leaving the door open for new courses for both companies and billions in fees, including a $1.6 billion breakup free.
Paulson’s stake in Shire was valued at $2.34 billion at the end of the quarter, up $1.55 billion from the previous quarter.
The $24 billion New York firm, which bets on mergers, also pared down its stake in Allergan Inc.AGN +1.24% to 5,377,200 shares, valued at $958.2 million as of Sept. 30, and increased its position in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.'sVRX.T +0.88% to $68.3 million, according to the filing.
Mr. Paulson, who made his name during the financial crisis betting against the housing market, supports Valeant’s hostile takeover bid for Botox maker Allergan.
Paulson also took new stakes in Athlon Energy Inc., PetSmart Inc.PETM -0.01% and Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd.BABA +0.23%, China’s largest e-commerce company which debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in September. Paulson’s 1,902,500 shares in Alibaba were valued at $169 million at the end of the quarter.
Paulson also raised its stakes in Covidien COV +0.33%, which has struck a deal to sell itself to Medtronic Inc.MDT -0.62%, and in DirecTV DTV +0.06%, which has agreed to be bought by AT&T Inc.T +0.81%
The positions were revealed in a 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a quarterly requirement for investors managing more than $100 million. The report indicates the number of shares held and the value of each stake at the end of the quarter.