Valeant is a pharmaceutical company in Canada and they recently made an offer to buy Allergan Inc.  I like Allergan, because I think one of its products is unbeatable in terms of international demand, particularly from women. As a result, I bought shares in the company some time ago.  The bid by Valeant led to a big jump in the shares of Allergen which were up 78% since I bought them in any event – not to mention the decline of the Rand during that time which has made it an even better bet.  The point I make, because I do like to promote long-term ownership of shares, is that everybody can find winners on the Stock market with a little bit of hard work themselves and intuition.  Is it really that hard to know that Botox is an absolute winner, has no competition and that whatever company has it is going to be assured of increasing profits over the years?  It may be debatable as to whether or not toll roads will take off in South Africa and whether one could invest safely in Kapsch Traffic, which is why if you do, and they do work out, you will show a much bigger profit, but there is also safety in a guaranteed winner and that is Allergen’s main product and crown jewel – Botox. 

Of course, it is always easier to say that once the share has gone up 78% and the truth is, it is certainly not a bargain now, but one has to look around and see what businesses and products are booming.  When I bought MTN shares when they were R13,00, people were writing in the newspaper saying that MTN had tremendous problems because it was getting paid in cash in Nigeria and they had to build special rooms to store all the cash in and everyone thought that was a security concern!  I thought that must be an opportunity of a lifetime and was it so hard, 10 years or so ago, to spot that one was not going to lose on mobile phones?  I set a target for myself of R100,00 for the share price and when it reached that price I sold.  It is of course way past that now (R218,00) and you can imagine what some of the original staff, with their share allocations, are worth now.  Yes, the market can be a gamble and it is certainly not cheap now, but there always have been, and always will be, buying opportunities to buy growing companies at good prices before they reach their very peak.