Billionaire Bill Ackman kicks off dual IPO race

2024

WHEN

CEO

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is one of the most powerful figures on Wall Street.

After serving the world's wealthiest investors for decades, he is planning to take his firms public and the Pershing Square Capital Management founder and CEO didn't take long to kick off the roadshow.

On Apr. 13, Ackman announced a combined initial public offering (IPO) of two companies:

Pershing Square USA, Ltd. (PSUS), a closed-end fund
Pershing Square Inc. (PSI), the hedge fund and the prospective parent company of Pershing Square Capital Management

For every 100 PSUS shares an investor purchases in the IPO, they will receive 20 PSI shares for no additional cost, as per the filing. With the dual listing, the IPO aims to raise $5 billion-$10 billion.

In a letter addressed to shareholders, Ackman hailed Pershing Square's “extraordinary economic characteristics,” adding the firm can tap the industry's best professionals and permanent capital gives it the ideal structure to pursue the investment strategy.

"Our investment strategy involves the acquisition and long-term ownership of what we consider to be some of the greatest businesses and long-term compounders of shareholder value."

Ackman said the long-term goal for Pershing Square Inc. is building one of the world's most valuable companies by generating one of the best long-term performance records of any investor ever.

More News:

Ackman on digital assets: From skepticism to quiet acceptance

While the Wall Street icon still trusts traditional markets with the biggest bets, Ackman's position on digital assets has evolved over time.

In 2021, the billionaire said cryptocurrency has "no intrinsic value" and said he wouldn't invest in Bitcoin (BTC) as it's a pure speculative asset.

But he had a change of heart a year later when he admitted that though he was initially a crypto skeptic, he now believed that crypto can support useful businesses and technologies. Notably, his conversion happened after the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange in 2022.

He also revealed in the X thread that he is a small direct investor in some crypto projects, an investor in seven crypto VC funds, and a small investor in companies tied to tax compliance and crypto fraud reduction.

Ackman also added then that he invests in crypto-related ventures as a hobbyist in a non-Pershing Square capacity and these investments represent less than 2% of his assets.

Neither the Pershing Square USA nor the Pershing Square Inc. offers any crypto exposure.

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