Ackman says his plans for Howard Hughes won't impact how his portfolios invest (updated)

Howard Hughes Holdings

19/02/2025 16:38

(Adds details from conference call, background)
    By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
       NEW YORK, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Bill
Ackman's plans to turn real estate company Howard Hughes
Holdings  HHH.N  into a diversified holding company will not
impact how his investment portfolios buy and sell stakes in
companies.
    Ackman's flagship Pershing Square Holdings  PSHP.L 
portfolio will continue to buy large stakes in large companies
while Howard Hughes will buy controlling stakes in small
companies, he explained on a conference call.
     "These are two different worlds," he added, noting it is
possible to pursue both types of investment strategies.
    The investor who began his professional life as a corporate
activist by pushing companies like railway Canadian Pacific to
perform better is now reshaping his hedge fund firm, Pershing
Square Capital Management, into a diversified financial group.
    After retiring from his "vocal" corporate agitator life
three years ago, Ackman has spent the bulk of his time creating
what he calls "modern-day version of Berkshire Hathaway." 
        Under a revised proposal for Howard Hughes, Ackman would
offer $900 million and increase his stake to 48% from 37.6%.
  
        He would also become the company's CEO after having been
involved with the company for more than a decade and having
served as its chairman until he stepped off the board early last
year.
  
        On a conference call on X, Ackman said the new Howard
Hughes would offer a permanent home to small businesses that it
likes. "You will be important to us," he said, adding that he
wouldn't buy the interests only to sell them again in a few
years.
  
        Nearly a year ago Ackman laid the groundwork for a new
fund designed to let U.S.-based investors tap into the kind of
double-digit returns his Pershing Square Holdings fund has been
delivering for years.
  
        He scrapped the launch of Pershing Square USA only days
before it was slated to begin trading on the New York Stock
Exchange after he shrank the fundraising target to $2 billion
from $25 billion.
  
        Ackman has said privately that he will try again for an
initial public offering for the fund and has met with bankers to
gauge interest but that his first priority is finalizing the
Howard Hughes deal.
  

 (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
 ((svea.herbst@thomsonreuters.com; +617 233 2138; Reuters
Messaging: svea.herbst.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))