Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Plans First Venture Fund for Pre-IPO Companies
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman’s investment firm is preparing a new vehicle that would let investors gain exposure to companies before their initial public offerings, joining a growing group of firms offering access to high-growth startups through new funds. Ackman and the company’s chief investment officer, Ryan Israel, said in a shareholder letter Wednesday that Pershing Square Inc. had begun preparations for Pershing Square Ventures Ltd. The fund is designed as an evergreen, permanent-capital investment vehicle that can continue holding stakes in portfolio companies after they go public. Pershing Square has recently completed several investments in private companies, according to the letter. Those investments will be included in the new fund’s initial portfolio, along with some private-company investments held by Ackman’s family office. “One of the biggest complaints from ordinary investors today is that, while SpaceX is a great company with very strong prospects, by the time they first had an opportunity to invest in SpaceX, the company was valued at $1.5 trillion,” Ackman said Thursday on the company’s earnings call. “I was able to invest in SpaceX, X and xAI at much lower valuations.” “We want to give ordinary people an opportunity to have that kind of access, and that is what we intend to do through Pershing Square Ventures,” Ackman said. “We will seed the fund initially so that people will know exactly what they are investing in.” Ackman said Pershing plans to launch the fund this fall or by year-end and intends to file related documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The new vehicle will invest in companies of varying sizes, ranging from valuations of several hundred million dollars to so-called decacorns, which are companies valued at more than $10 billion. Ackman said on the earnings call that the fund would start small and would not initially add substantially to Pershing Square’s assets under management.
Ackman and the company’s chief investment officer, Ryan Israel, said in a shareholder letter Wednesday that Pershing Square Inc. had begun preparations for Pershing Square Ventures Ltd. The fund is designed as an evergreen, permanent-capital investment vehicle that can continue holding stakes in portfolio companies after they go public.
Pershing Square has recently completed several investments in private companies, according to the letter. Those investments will be included in the new fund’s initial portfolio, along with some private-company investments held by Ackman’s family office.
“One of the biggest complaints from ordinary investors today is that, while SpaceX is a great company with very strong prospects, by the time they first had an opportunity to invest in SpaceX, the company was valued at $1.5 trillion,” Ackman said Thursday on the company’s earnings call. “I was able to invest in SpaceX, X and xAI at much lower valuations.”
“We want to give ordinary people an opportunity to have that kind of access, and that is what we intend to do through Pershing Square Ventures,” Ackman said. “We will seed the fund initially so that people will know exactly what they are investing in.”
Ackman said Pershing plans to launch the fund this fall or by year-end and intends to file related documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The new vehicle will invest in companies of varying sizes, ranging from valuations of several hundred million dollars to so-called decacorns, which are companies valued at more than $10 billion. Ackman said on the earnings call that the fund would start small and would not initially add substantially to Pershing Square’s assets under management.