Billionaire hedge fund boss Bill Ackman is looking to bounce back from his botched Pershing Square USA IPO by eyeing a deal to take the Howard Hughes real estate firm private, regulatory filings show. The document published on the Securities and Exchange Commission website, known as Schedule 13D, is used to provide transparency to the public and investors about a change of ownership. The Harvard-educated money man’s Pershing Square is currently the company’s largest shareholder with stock that amounts to a 38% stake in the Texas-based development firm, also known as HHH, records show.
It could now buy out the rest of the company and de-list it from the New York Stock Exchange, the document said. His Pershing Square Capital Management said in the filing that it has hired the Jefferies investment bank to advise on the possible transaction. It said that the firm “may discuss their evaluation and the potential alternatives, including a potential take-private, with one or more prospective co-investors.
” The document also said that it expected those discussions “to be conducted on a confidential basis.” Howard Hughes was involved in the overhaul of the South Street Seaport in downtown Manhattan, and has also helped develop several luxury high-end properties nationwide. The Post has approached representatives of Howard Hughes and Jefferies for comment.
A spokesman for Pershing Square declined to comment. Ackman stood down as chairman of the Howard Hughes board in April t.