Bill Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, speaks during an interview for an episode of “The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations” in New York on November 28, 2023.
Jeenah Moon | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square USA withdrew its plans for an IPO after investor demand apparently fell short of original expectations.
But the hedge fund titan said he would return with a revised plan for issuing his fund, which he wanted to model on Berkshire Hathaway.
Ackman wrote in a statement:
“While we are seeing tremendous investor interest in PSUS, a fundamental question remains: Would it be better for investors to wait to invest in the aftermarket rather than in the IPO? This question has led us to re-evaluate the structure of PSUS to make the IPO investment decision straightforward. We will report when we are ready to initiate a revised transaction.”
The withdrawal comes a day after the fund said it was seeking to raise $2 billion, significantly less than the $25 billion cited in previous reports. The announcement also follows a notice on the New York Stock Exchange's website last Friday that said the billionaire was postponing his IPO.
Pershing Square had $18.7 billion in assets under management at the end of June. The majority of the money was held by Pershing Square Holdings, a closed-end fund traded in Europe.
On Monday, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources, that Baupost Group had decided against investing in the offering after Ackman initially touted in a letter to investors that Seth Klarman's Boston-based hedge fund was involved.
Ackman's move to take Pershing Square public was seen as an opportunity to capitalize on his growing presence among retail investors. He currently has more than a million followers on the social media platform X, where he expresses his views on issues such as the US presidential election and anti-Semitism.