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Ackman’s Pershing Square USA Falls 18% in Debut as $5 Billion IPO Tests Investor Demand

Ackman blames settlement pressure from a late open for the slide.

Overview

  • Pershing Square USA, a closed-end fund listed as PSUS, fell from a $50 offer price to about $41 on its first trading day and later traded below the IPO level.
  • The combined offering raised about $5 billion, with roughly $2.8 billion from cornerstone investors who agreed to a six-month lockup.
  • To entice buyers, participants received one share of Pershing Square Inc. (PS) for every five PSUS shares at no extra cost.
  • Ackman said the deal favored retail allocations and that the stocks opened at 1:55 p.m., which left little time to raise cash for next-day settlement and likely spurred late selling.
  • After the drop, he disclosed buying 500,000 PSUS shares and 800,000 PS shares, signaling confidence as he argued PSUS traded below its cash per share.