LAVAL, Quebec— Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX) (TSX: VRX) announced that it has initiated a search for a new chief executive officer, appointed William A. Ackman to its board of directors and provided an update on certain accounting and financial reporting matters.

Valeant said the board has initiated a search to identify a candidate to succeed J. Michael Pearson as chief executive officer. Pearson, who recently returned from a two-month medical leave, will continue to serve as CEO and a director until his replacement is appointed.

Robert Ingram, chairman of the board, stated, "While the past few months have been difficult, Valeant has a collection of leading brands, valuable franchises and great people, and I am confident that the company will be able to rebuild its reputation and thrive under new leadership. We thank Mike for his dedicated service to Valeant and for agreeing to stay on until we conclude our search. As a colleague and a friend he will be missed, and we wish him the best for the future."

Valeant also announced that William A. Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P., will join its board of directors, effective immediately. Ackman, whose firm has a 9.0 percent stake in Valeant, will join Pershing Square's vice chairman, Stephen Fraidin, on the board.

As the maximum size of Valeant's board currently is fixed at 14 directors, Katharine B. Stevenson voluntarily resigned from the board to create a vacancy to permit Ackman's appointment. The board also requested that former chief financial officer Howard Schiller tender his resignation as a director, but Schiller has not done so.

Board chairman Ingram said, "We look forward to Bill Ackman's perspective and contributions as a new member of our board and one of Valeant's largest shareholders. The board thanks our valued colleague, Kate, for her service on our board and for voluntarily offering to step down in order to allow Bill Ackman to join the board."

Pershing Square’s Ackman said, "I am looking forward to working with the board to identify new leadership for Valeant. The company's large scale and dominant franchises in eyecare, dermatology, GI, and other therapeutic areas coupled with its extraordinarily low valuation present a spectacular opportunity for a world-class health care executive. On behalf of all shareholders, we are extremely appreciative of Valeant employees' hard work and commitment during this challenging time for the company."

As previously disclosed, on Feb. 22, 2016, based on the work of an ad hoc committee of the board, established to review allegations regarding the company's relationship with pharmacy Philidor Rx Services, the company preliminarily determined that approximately $58 million in net revenue relating to sales to Philidor in 2014 should not have been recognized.

The company is in the process of restating the affected financial statements and the restated financial statements will be included in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2015, which the company intends to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Canadian Securities Regulators on or before April 29, 2016, Valeant said.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals, owner of Bausch + Lomb, is a multinational specialty pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of pharmaceutical products primarily in the areas of dermatology, gastrointestinal disorder, eye health, neurology and branded generics.