Bill Ackman's Pershing Square $SQ is expected to raise about $5 billion in its initial public offering, according to Bloomberg — the low end of its targeted fundraising range and half the $10 billion the offering had previously been aiming to reach.
Institutional investors have committed to roughly 85% of the offering, which bundles shares of the closed-end fund Pershing Square USA Ltd. together with complimentary shares of Pershing Square Inc., according to Bloomberg. The $5 billion figure includes a $2.8 billion private placement disclosed in SEC filings.
Order books are set to close at 4 p.m. New York time Monday, with pricing slated to follow on April 28 as originally planned, Bloomberg reported. The outlet noted that nothing has been finalized and the offering's terms remain subject to revision.
According to SEC filings, the closed-end fund will carry a 2% annual management fee with no performance-based fee component. Voting control of Pershing Square Inc. is expected to rest with a vehicle jointly held by Ackman, chief investment officer Ryan Israel, and fellow executives once both offerings are complete.
Underwriting duties are shared among Citigroup $C, UBS, Bank of America $BAC, Jefferies, and Wells Fargo $WFC. On the New York Stock Exchange, the closed-end fund will carry the ticker PSUS and the management company will list under PS.
The offering is structured so that buyers of the closed-end fund receive shares in the hedge fund management company — 20 hedge fund shares for every 100 closed-end fund shares purchased at $50 apiece, with early institutional backers receiving a slightly more favorable ratio of 30 shares. The bundled structure ties access to Pershing Square the management company to capital commitments in Pershing Square the fund, limiting dilution of the management entity while still allowing it to go public.
This is Ackman's second attempt at a major long-term public investment fund. A 2024 effort to raise as much as $25 billion for a NYSE-listed closed-end fund collapsed before launch, after which Pershing Square pivoted to building out its stake in Howard Hughes Holdings as an acquisition vehicle.