Bill Ackman sells 10% stake in Pershing Square before IPO

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is planning on taking Pershing Square Capital Management public — possibly as soon as next year — as his national profile climbs.

Ackman — who has become a vocal critic of antisemitism on college campuses in the wake of the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas terrorists in Israel — is selling an ownership stake ahead of a $1 billion funding round that is expected to value the company at $10.5 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

By the end of last month, Pershing Square had around $16.3 billion in assets under its management.

The $10.5 billion valuation is considered high given that other hedge funds that have several times the amount of assets under management are said to be worth around the same figure, according to the Journal.

But Pershing has been telling investors that its valuation is justified given that the firm has plans to attract billions of dollars in additional assets using Ackman’s social media cachet and high public profile.

Roughly $500 million of the money raised with investors will anchor Pershing Square USA, a new investment portfolio in the US.

It will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and available to anyone who can invest in the US, including retail investors, the Journal and Reuters both reported.

This new fund will mimic his existing hedge fund but offer lower fees and quicker access to capital and could lure some of Ackman’s 1.2 million followers on social media platform X.

The other half of the money will be used in funds that the firm expects to launch.

A potential IPO is further off and could happen next year or in 2026, the source said.

Ackman’s company is listed on European stock exchanges in both London and Amsterdam.

Pershing Square returned 26.7% last year, beating broader stock market gains and bouncing back from a loss in 2022.

The Post has sought comment from Ackman.

Founded by Ackman in January 2004, Pershing Square Capital Management generally invests in roughly a dozen stocks and is best known for its activist campaigns.

Ackman has been actively posting on X in the weeks and months since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel.

The Harvard alum denounced his alma mater for permitting anti-Israel protests that some say have veered into overt displays of antisemitism and threats of violence.

Ackman has also weighed in on matters ranging from Uber’s tip policies to national politics — signaling that he will abandon his traditional pro-Democrat stance and support former President Donald Trump in this year’s election.

A person familiar with Ackman’s thinking told Financial Times that he is leaning towards supporting Trump. He is likely to endorse the Republican in an upcoming social media post on X.

Sources told FT that while Ackman was “ambivalent” about Trump, his disdain for the Democrat incumbent, President Joe Biden, outweighed any concerns he had about his predecessor.

Trump on Thursday became the first former president convicted of a felony after a Manhattan jury found him guilty of falsifying records in order to conceal an alleged six-figure hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Last week, another Wall Street billionaire, Stephen Schwarzman, endorsed Trump, citing a rise in antisemitism in the country as among the reasons.

Wall Street donors who abandoned Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021 rioting at the US Capitol are now rethinking their position in light of the Biden administration’s policies including its proposals to raise taxes on the wealthy as well as its enforcement of antitrust and securities laws.

Trump is also attracting more support from Silicon Valley venture capitalists and tech moguls who in years past have supported Democrats — among them Elon Musk.

Musk has even reportedly been discussing a possible advisory role in a second Trump administration.

With Post Wires