Panxing Square offers a merger proposal to the real estate company Howard Hughes (HHH.US) at a price of $85 per share.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman proposed a merger between a subsidiary and the real estate developer Howard Hughes at a price of $85 per share. The investment company offered $85 per share to Howard Hughes shareholders, with the majority to be paid in cash. The remaining portion of the deal will be paid in stock of the merged company. Based on last Friday's closing price, the cash portion represents a premium of 18.4%. The letter posted on the company's website shows that Howard Hughes shareholders can choose to receive the merger consideration at $85 per share, or roll all or part of their shares into the merged company. The letter states: "The cash/stock election will be subject to a specified proportion to ensure that the company maintains at least 13.6 million shares of public float, or 30.8% of the then-issued and outstanding shares." The letter also mentions that following the completion of the transaction (before any investments by strategic partners become effective), Pershing Square Holdings and its affiliates will own a minimum of 61.1% and a maximum of 69.2% of the company's shares (if $500 million or more of public float shares are exchanged for cash). As of August last year, Pershing Square was the largest shareholder of Howard Hughes, holding 37.5% of the company's shares. The letter states: "We anticipate that following the completion of the transaction, all existing Howard Hughes employees will remain. In short, we are all in this together, and we intend for Pershing Square Holdings to have a permanent ownership interest in Howard Hughes. In other words, we intend to hold Howard Hughes stock forever."