Ackman looks to persuade judge $290M Allergan settlement is fair

Bill Ackman is going to try and hold onto a little cash on Tuesday.

Lawyers for the embattled hedgie will appear before a federal judge in Los Angeles in an attempt to persuade him the $290 million settlement with Allergan shareholders is fair.

Earlier this month, Judge David O. Carter called into question whether the deal was fair. Ackman’s Pershing Square hedge fund is on the hook for $194 million of the settlement.

“Ultimately, [Allergan shareholders] were able to obtain, the rough negotiation, the largest-ever private settlement in a case alleging trading on the basis of material nonpublic information,” Pershing’s legal eagle wrote in court papers filed late Friday.

The shareholders, in their 2014 lawsuit against Pershing and Valeant Pharmaceuticals, claim they were duped as the hedge fund and pharma giant traded on inside information while snatching up Allergan shares in advance of making their failed 2014 hostile bid for the Botox maker.

Court documents say Ackman earned $2.5 billion on the allegedly illicit trades — meaning shareholders would get roughly 12 percent of the pot if the settlement is approved.

Both sides would have faced risks at trial. The settlement was hammered out over three years of back and forth after the suit was filed.

If the judge finds the settlement is not fair it could lead to a trial or to Pershing having to dig deeper to fund a larger settlement.