Hedge fund activist Bill Ackman plans to make a presentation next month that he claims will lay out evidence that Herbalife likely operates illegally in China, The Post has learned.
The date and place of the presentation —–which he first hinted at in a recent investor letter — is not yet set, sources familiar with Ackman’s strategy said.
The Ackman development comes as shares of Herbalife and other multilevel marketing companies got pummeled Thursday on news that the Chinese government said it is investigating claims in a state-run newspaper that a second multilevel marketing firm, Nu Skin Enterpristry.
Nu Skin, which first denied the report but later said it was conducting its own review, fell 26.4 percent, to $84.80.
Herbalife shares fell 9.8 percent, to $71.63, losing almost 10 percent of their value.
It was the biggest one-day decline for the Los Angeles nutritional supplement distributor since Ackman called it a pyramid scheme in December 2012.
At the time, Ackman announced a $1 billion short in Herbalife shares.
The company has strongly denied Ackman’s claim.
Ackman, whose bet on Herbalife has been losing money since July, last year added China to his focus and has investigators on the ground there, according to sources.
In a letter to investors first published by The Post on Dec. 23, Ackman mentioned China as he laid out plans to unveil several types of new information — including the China matter — to bolster his claim.
Herbalife claims it operates legally in China.
“We will show how Herbalife’s Chinese operation likely violates the multi-level marketing restrictions in that market,” he told investors.
Herbalife has denied Ackman’s pyramid allegations and said it operates legally in China.
China has been a huge growth market for multilevel marketers, despite laws there prohibiting such businesses.
In a multilevel marketing outfit, distributors buy products to recruit others to do the same. Distributors get commissions on every product bought by those below them.