Herbalife, Dan Loeb exit stage right-> " WSJ reported earlier this month that [Third Point had made at least $50 million on its estimated bet of more than $200 million on Herbalife and that the firm had largely exited its Herbalife stake."
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April 10, 2013, 5:59 PM Daniel Loeb: Herbalife a Winner, Gold a Loser In Q1
By Steven Russolillo
 Reuters Daniel Loeb
Third Point’s Daniel Loeb said Herbalife Ltd. HLF -0.30%was one of its top five winning investments in the first quarter, while gold was one of its biggest losers.
In his first quarter investor letter, Loeb said his Third Point Offshore Fund Ltd. rose 9.0%, which underperformed the S&P 500's 10.6% gain. Herbalife was among the fund’s top performers, the letter said. Loeb didn’t disclose what position the fund currently has in the nutritional-supplement maker.
WSJ reported earlier this month that Third Point had made at least $50 million on its estimated bet of more than $200 million on Herbalife and that the firm had largely exited its Herbalife stake.
Loeb and Carl Icahn are among several prominent investors that have taken large stakes betting on Herbalife’s resurgence. On the other side is Bill Ackman, who has made a $1 billion bet against the stock and has said the company is operating an illegal pyramid scheme.
In addition to Herbalife, Third Point said Yahoo Inc. YHOO +1.01%, AIG and Virgin Media VMED +0.34%were among the fund’s top performers in the first quarter. Gold and Greek government bonds were among the fund’s biggest losers. Gold prices fell 4.8% in the first quarter.
Loeb said his fund increased its exposure to International Paper IP +1.72%in the first quarter. “IP has a compelling case for ownership buoyed by excellent sector and secular tailwinds,” the letter said.
The firm also boosted its stake in Liberty Global LBTYA +0.62%, Europe’s largest cable operator, after its acquisition of Virgin Media. “We believe Liberty’s strategic value as the primary alternative to the incumbent telecom operator’s fixed infrastructure in its markets is overlooked,” Loeb said.
Loeb also devoted a sizable chunk of the letter to the fact that Japan has been a big winner for his fund, noting that a visit to Japan a year ago helped fuel his thesis on the country.
“We recognized from past experience that meaningful quantitative easing in Japan could provide opportunities like our ‘don’t fight the Fed’ investments in 2009-10 and European sovereign debt trades in 2012,” Loeb said.
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