Bill Ackman’s hedge fund Pershing Square – known for its contrarian bets – is expected to raise $5 billion in its IPO, at the bottom of its targeted range, a source familiar with the matter told The Post.
The billionaire investor earlier said he was looking to raise between $5 billion and $10 billion in a dual-IPO of his closed-end fund and hedge fund, which will each trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the name Pershing Square – with ticker symbols PSUS and PS, respectively.
But the final offer size will be $5 billion, though the IPO was oversubscribed with excess demand, the source told The Post.
The initial public offering of shares – which is slated to price Tuesday as scheduled – is about 85% covered by institutional investors and includes a $2.8 billion private placement, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
Talks are still ongoing so the details could still change, according to the report.
Pershing Square declined to comment.
As of the end of 2025, the alternative hedge fund held roughly $30.7 billion in total assets under management, including $20.7 billion in fee-paying assets, according to a filing.
Pershing has gained a reputation as a contrarian investment firm, after Ackman made a stunning 100-fold return on his COVID pandemic hedge – raking in $2.6 billion.
Ackman – worth roughly $9 billion, according to Forbes – believed the pandemic would slam the economy, so he instructed his traders to spend $27 million buying up portfolio protection, specifically focusing on credit markets. It paid off massively.
This week’s IPO is just his latest attempt at a public investment firm, after his plan to raise $25 billion for a closed-end fund on the New York Stock Exchange fell apart in 2024.
A closed-end fund is fixed, meaning it doesn’t continuously create or redeem shares like a mutual fund, which makes the fundraising process especially difficult.
A few months after the 2024 IPO failed, Ackman ramped up his stake in real estate developer Howard Hughes Holdings, which he hoped to transform into the “next Berkshire Hathaway.”
The new IPO will give investors stakes in both Pershing’s hedge fund and the closed-end fund. For every 100 shares purchased from the closed-end fund IPO, a buyer will also receive 20 shares in the management firm, according to SEC filings.
Pershing Square will charge a 2% management fee, and it will not charge a performance fee, the filings said.
Ackman, Chief Investment Officer Ryan Israel and other Pershing Square execs will control an investment vehicle that will have voting power over the funds following the IPO.
Citigroup, UBS Group AG, Bank of America, Jefferies and Wells Fargo are leading the joint IPO.
