Ackman's Pershing Square fund sets $2 bln target for US IPO (updated)

Pershing Square Holdings

30/07/2024 13:06

(Adds background on Ackman in paragraphs 3-5)
       July 30 (Reuters) - 
    Bill Ackman's new fund said on Tuesday it was aiming to
raise up to $2 billion in its initial public offering in the
United States, drastically lower than its first target that
would have ranked among the biggest IPOs ever.
  
        Pershing Square USA will look to sell up to 40 million
shares priced at $50 each. It was initially expected to bring in
as much as $25 billion in new capital, but Ackman last week said
the fundraise would be capped at $10 billion.
        Ackman, a prolific investor with a vast social media
following, is one of the most public faces in the hedge fund
industry. He often uses his account on X to weigh on topics
ranging from political battles to higher education.
  
        Earlier this year, he led a campaign criticizing Harvard
University after turmoil over practices related to antisemitism,
plagiarism and financial management.
  
        He was also backing on his popularity among retail
investors to support the fund. But potential shareholders 
    expressed some concerns
     about its structure, how quickly the cash would be invested
and who would do the investing.
  
        The fund     has said it will acquire and hold positions
in 12 to 15 large capitalization, investment grade,
free-cash-flow-generative undervalued companies in North
America.
  
        It is aiming for a listing on the New York Stock
Exchange under the symbol "PSUS."
  

 (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh
Kuber, Arun Koyyur and Maju Samuel)
 ((Niket.Nishant@thomsonreuters.com;))