Stiritz Sides With Icahn for 22% Surge in Herbalife Bet: Retail

Bill Stiritz paid scant attention to Herbalife Ltd. until a televised smackdown in January between billionaire hedge-fund activists Carl Icahn and Bill Ackman, who claims the nutrition company is a pyramid scheme. Icahn’s rebuttal convinced Stiritz to take a closer look.

Stiritz, chief executive officer of Raisin Bran maker Post Holdings Inc., began buying Herbalife shares and researching the company. He even signed up as a distributor of protein shakes and supplements, paying $55 to get access to contracts and sales materials. Before long, he was Herbalife’s fourth-largest shareholder with a more than 5.2 percent stake, financed with about $250 million of his own money. Since Sept. 3, the day Stiritz disclosed his holdings, Herbalife has jumped 22 percent.