Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman plans to take his Pershing Square Capital Management firm public as soon as next year as his national profile grows.
Ackman, who has become a vocal critic of anti-Semitism on college campuses following the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas terrorists in Israel, sold his stake in the company ahead of a $1 billion fundraising round that is expected to value the company at $10.5 billion. According to the Wall Street Journal.
As of the end of last month, Pershing Square had about $16.3 billion in assets under management.
The $10.5 billion valuation seems high, considering other hedge funds with several times more assets under management are said to be worth similar amounts, according to The Wall Street Journal.
But Pershing has told investors that its valuation is justified because it plans to use Ackman’s social media presence and high profile to attract billions of dollars in additional assets.
Approximately $500 million of the funds raised from investors will form the basis of Pershing Square USA, a new US investment portfolio.
The Wall Street Journal and Reuters both reported that the shares will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and available to anyone in the United States who can invest, including retail investors.
The new fund would mimic existing hedge funds but would have lower fees, quicker access to capital and potentially attract some of Ackman’s 1.2 million followers on the social media platform X.
The remaining half of the money will be used for a fund the company plans to launch.
A potential IPO is further down the line, possibly as soon as next year or as soon as 2026, the sources said.
Ackman’s companies are listed on both the London and Amsterdam European stock exchanges.
Pershing Square returned 26.7% last year, outpacing the broader stock market gains and rebounding from losses in 2022.
The Washington Post has reached out to Ackman for comment.
Founded by Ackman in January 2004, Pershing Square Capital Management typically invests in about a dozen stocks and is best known for its activist activism.
Ackman has been posting actively on X in the weeks and months since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
The Harvard University graduate criticized his alma mater for allowing anti-Israel protests that some say have escalated into explicit displays of anti-Semitism and threats of violence.
Ackman has weighed in on a wide range of issues from Uber’s tipping policy to national politics, and has abandoned his traditional Democratic stance to support former President Donald Trump in this year’s election.
People who know Ackman’s thinking He told the Financial Times He is leaning towards supporting Trump. He is likely to endorse the Republican Party in his future social media posts about X.
A source told the Financial Times that while Ackman has “mixed feelings” about Trump, his disdain for incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden outweighs any concerns he has about his predecessor.
Trump was found guilty Thursday by a Manhattan jury of falsifying records to hide an alleged six-figure hush payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels, making him the first former president to be convicted of a felony.
Last week, another Wall Street billionaire, Stephen Schwarzman, endorsed Trump, citing rising anti-Semitism in the country as one of the reasons.
Wall Street donors who abandoned Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol are now rethinking their positions in light of the Biden administration’s policies, including proposed tax hikes on the wealthy and enforcement of antitrust and securities laws.
Trump is also garnering additional support from Silicon Valley venture capitalists and tech moguls, including Elon Musk, who have supported Democrats over the past few years.
Musk is also reportedly considering a possible advisory role in Trump’s second term.
With post wire
