Ackman urgently withdraws Pershing Square USA listing plan. The market is looking forward to the unveiling of the new structure.

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman unexpectedly canceled the listing plan for his closed-end fund Pershing Square USA (PSUS.US) on Wednesday, just days before the fund was set to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange. This decision was made after at least one prominent committed investor exited and faced a new round of regulatory scrutiny. Previously, Ackman had already reduced the size of the initial public offering (IPO) a day before, marking the second reduction within a week. Ackman posted four statements on his social media platform X with 1.3 million followers, announcing that his team had reassessed the fund's structure. He wrote, "Once we are ready to launch the revised trade, we will report the results to everyone in a timely manner." Ackman's spokesperson did not comment further on this decision. Hours later, Ackman posted again on social media, explaining that he had come up with a better trading structure on Wednesday morning, thus deciding to withdraw the IPO. Closed-end funds have gradually fallen out of favor in recent years as they typically trade at prices below the value of the securities they hold. Industry data shows that there were no new closed-end funds launched last year, and only six have been launched in 2022. In February of this year, Ackman announced an innovative plan to create a lower-cost fund for American investors, including individual investors, replicating his hedge fund investment strategy. Insiders revealed that the fund was originally planned to raise up to $25 billion in assets, potentially becoming one of the largest IPOs in recent years. This would have more than doubled the assets under management of Ackman's New York-based Pershing Square Capital Management company from $19 billion. However, potential investors expressed concerns about the fund's structure, including where new funds would be invested during significant market rallies and the decision-makers for investments. Last week, Ackman announced to investors in his management company that the fund's maximum size would be $10 billion, and by Tuesday, he expected to raise a funding amount of about $2 billion. Ackman wrote in his blog post on Wednesday, "Despite receiving a lot of interest from investors in Pershing Square USA, a key question remains whether investors will find it more worthwhile to invest in the aftermarket than at the IPO." In recent weeks, Ackman has held dozens of meetings with top hedge funds and mutual funds that have shown strong interest in the new fund. This is the first time Ackman has planned to establish a new fund since his closed-end fund Pershing Square Holdings successfully raised $2.9 billion on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange ten years ago. Ackman admitted that the structure of Pershing Square USA has raised concerns as prices of such investment tools often deviate from the value of the assets they hold. He stated that his company had pledged to invest $500 million as an anchor investment in this company he referred to as an American listed investment holding company. Last week, Ackman sent a letter to investors in his management company informing them of the listing process and seeking their financial support. The letter included committed investors such as Seth Klarman-managed and low-profile Baupost Group hedge fund. Although the letter was initially sent privately, it was later submitted to regulators, causing the expected start of the trade to be delayed. Insiders revealed that Baupost Group, managed by Seth Klarman, ultimately decided not to participate in the investment, a decision that seemed to affect the confidence of other potential investors.