- William Albert Ackman
- William Albert Ackman: Pershing Square Capital Management
- William Albert Ackman: More Info
William Albert Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management in the past has purchased positions in Wendy’s International Inc., McDonald’s Corporation and Ceridian Corp., pressuring the management of those companies to increase profits by selling either real estate assets or corporate divisions. The investment company in turn profits when the asset liquidation returns capital in the form of dividends and a higher share
price. Then Pershing sells off its holdings at a higher share price. Regarding Wendy’s International, Wendy’s management repurchased shares following the forced sale of their
subsidiary Tim Hortons through an IPO, when Pershing unloaded most of their shares.
Target Corp.
Pershing Square IV was established to invest solely in the stock of Target Corporation which it was hoped would rise. The fund dropped nearly 90% in 2008 and William Albert Ackman apologized for the losses. The fund subsequently rebounded a certain amount. In a February 2009 letter to investors Ackman said “Bottom line, PSIV has been one of the greatest disappointments of my career to date.”