Allergan CEO undaunted by likely long battle with Valeant

(Reuters) - The chief executive of Allergan Inc said Tuesday he is an "endurance player" who is prepared for a long, drawn-out effort to fend off a hostile takeover attempt by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc and its ally, hedge fund billionaire William Ackman."I'm an endurance player; I climbed Kilmanjaro last year," David Pyott said in a telephone interview, when asked if he was prepared to battle Valeant and Ackman possibly into next year. "I like long slogs and enjoy it; we're planning for a long time."

Pyott said the top desire of Allergan shareholders was for the company to use an expected $14 billion in cash flow over the next five years for acquisitions that fit its differentiated business model, which includes anti-wrinkle drug Botox and an array of lucrative prescription eye medicines.

Investors should question the value of Valeant shares, he said, because the company was unique among specialty drugmakers in failing to report sales of its individual drugs in its earning reports.

Instead, it reports sales from an opaque "mishmash of reporting buckets," such as overall revenue from developed markets and emerging markets, Pyott said.

(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; Editing by Bernadette Baum)