Valeant CEO 'delighted' by Paulson's Allergan stake

(Reuters) - Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc's chief executive said on Thursday he is "delighted" that hedge fund Paulson & Co has amassed a large stake in takeover target Allergan Inc , and that he believes Valeant will garner enough support to trigger a special meeting of Allergan's board.

Reuters reported exclusively on Wednesday that Paulson had built a stake in Allergan of more than 6 million shares and supports a deal between the Botox maker and Valeant.

Paulson's shares, along with stock owned by Valeant ally Pershing Square Capital Management, give the company "a nice starting point" toward reaching at least 25 percent support of Allergan shares needed to call the special meeting that could replace most of Allergan's board, Valeant Chief Executive Michael Pearson said.

"We do believe we'll get the 25 percent and the majority we need to get this deal consummated," Pearson said on Canada's BNN TV.

Allergan has rejected Valeant's hostile $52 billion (30.55 billion pounds) bid and refused to negotiate.

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; editing by Matthew Lewis)