Ackman’s Pershing Square Seeks Up to $10 Billion in NYSE IPO

Summary

Bloomberg Intelligence Podcast Summary

Episode: Ackman’s Pershing Square Seeks Up to $10 Billion in NYSE IPO
Date: March 10, 2026
Hosts: Paul Sweeney, Scarlet Fu (featuring Karen Moscow, John, Nathan Hager)
Main Guests: Billy Lipschultz (Senior Equities Reporter), Mary Ross Gilbert (Retail Analyst), Matthew Griffin (Equities Reporter)

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Episode Overview

This episode explores Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square IPO filing, investigating why the prominent hedge fund manager is attempting a public listing now, what makes this offering different, and what it signals for Wall Street. The hosts also offer a critical look at Kohl’s ongoing struggles in retail and close with a discussion of increased market volatility driven by war, inflation, and credit concerns.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Public Offering

Background and Context

• Previously, Ackman’s efforts to take Pershing Square or its closed-end fund public faltered (2024 attempt raised only part of its ambitious multi-billion dollar target).
• The new pitch offers a hybrid: invest in the closed-end fund and receive shares in the management company as an extra incentive.
• The goal: raise $5–10 billion, up management fees, and finally bring the management company public.

Deal Structure and Investor Appeal (02:06–06:39)

• Billy Lipschultz: “Now we're seeing them come back with this, I'll call it novel pitch, that if you invest in the closed end fund, we'll give you some shares to the actual management company. As a way to entice people to buy.” (02:45)
• Cites strong private demand with $2.8 billion committed and hopes market momentum can take them over the $5 billion threshold.
• Management fee growth is a motivator: larger funds under management mean higher recurring revenues.

Rationale and Market Timing

• John: “Is it fees? What's the motivator here?” (03:31)
• Billy Lipschultz: “It's creating a vehicle... Ultimately takes the company public.” (03:36–04:09)
• Ackman is shifting from activist investing to concentrated 'Buffett-style' holdings (Chipotle, Alphabet, Brookfield), with added social media engagement.

Shift to Retail Investors

• Pitch is increasingly aimed at retail, using social media presence, and offering direct retail access to Pershing Square’s strategy.

Timeline and Regulatory Process

• IPO cannot formally start for at least 15 days after filing, likely post-Easter.
• Billy Lipschultz: “Base case, at a bare minimum, you need 15 days from this filing before you can launch an IPO process... probably just looking at the calendar, call it right on the other side of April.” (06:01)

Market Sentiment

• Ackman's confidence signals optimism amid uncertainty.
• He is candid in his 8-page letter, arguing that volatility may offer chances to ‘buy low’ for investors. “Their pitch is, well, if you're giving us money to turn around and invest well, we should be buying low and then ultimately profiting from there.” (06:39)

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2. Kohl’s: A Retailer in Decline

Recent Performance and Customer Base (08:52–14:16)

• Kohl’s reported disappointing quarterly sales; remains challenged after years of sales declines.
• Mary Ross Gilbert: “Their customers are definitely seeking value... not a lot of bags because they're in there carefully choosing, trying to find value.” (09:31)
• Klarna private brands and $10-and-under deal bars targeted at value-seeking, lower-middle-income shoppers.
• Store experience is inconsistent, with clearance-heavy sections and weak brand cohesion.

Black Friday and Holiday Misses

• Admitted losing ground during key shopping periods; sales lift remains elusive.
• Mary Ross Gilbert: “We were there on Black Friday... trying to find a way to spend (Kohl’s Cash) was a challenge because there were a number of excluded items.” (11:16)
• Margins are under pressure as promotions intensify—necessary for competitiveness, but hurt profit.

External Pressures and Strategic Initiatives

• Rising gas prices further strain customer spending power.
• Mary Ross Gilbert: “This customer is really going paycheck to paycheck. And so when you do have gas prices going up, that's going to impact their discretionary income...” (12:55)
• Pushing private label brands, digital sales, and store productivity over footprint expansion or contraction.

Turnaround Outlook and Takeover Potential

• Sales still projected to decline 1–3% for Q1 amid general top-line instability.
• Kohl’s has a “juicy real estate portfolio,” which could become attractive for PE or strategic buyers if underperformance persists.
• Mary Ross Gilbert: “When you look at the stacked four year comp decline... that's a 17% decline. So that shows you the magnitude of the decline...” (14:16)

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3. Market Volatility and Investor Uncertainty

Global Risks Piling Up (17:55–22:06)

• Recent escalation (Iran war) adds to global uncertainty, joining inflation, labor, AI, and private credit instability.
• Matthew Griffin: “Even if the war ends tomorrow... it's not all clear for investors... the war also heightens some of those other risks. So it all just adds up to a really tough spot for Wall Street right now.” (18:45)
• There is no clear playbook for investors; diversification is key but offers few certainties.
• Many draw (possibly misleading) comfort from comparing today’s risks to past crises (oil spikes, tech valuations).
• Matthew Griffin: “You can't look at each of these risks on its own because the problems together can add up to create issues for risk assets. And also that the stock market is really expensive today, so that maybe creates more downside risk...” (20:43)
• Hopes for a quick ‘return to normal’ are misplaced given the complex, combined shocks facing markets.

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• “Now we're seeing them come back with this, I'll call it novel pitch, that if you invest in the closed end fund, we'll give you some shares to the actual management company. As a way to entice people to buy.”
  — Billy Lipschultz (02:45)

• “Point blank, Pershing square failed to raise a handful of billions of dollars in a closed end fund two years ago.”
  — Billy Lipschultz (03:52)

• “No, it's pretty much holding a handful of companies... kind of buying a concentrated portfolio and holding it. He's also now even like Warren Buffett.”
  — Billy Lipschultz (04:45)

• “[Kohl’s] customers are definitely seeking value... not a lot of bags because they're in there carefully choosing, trying to find value.”
  — Mary Ross Gilbert (09:31)

• “Even if the war ends tomorrow... it's not all clear for investors... So it all just adds up to a really tough spot for Wall Street right now.”
  — Matthew Griffin (18:45)

• “You can't look at each of these risks on its own because the problems together can add up to create issues for risk assets.”
  — Matthew Griffin (20:43)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Pershing Square IPO Discussion: 02:06–06:39
• Kohl’s Retail Analysis: 08:52–15:59
• Market Volatility and 'The Confluence': 17:55–22:06

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Summary Takeaways

• Ackman’s Move: The Pershing Square NYSE IPO signals a vote of confidence—and an adaptation—by offering equity in both the fund and management company, aiming to reinvigorate growth and fees while inviting retail investors.
• Kohl’s Troubles: Highlight ongoing retail challenges, with value-centric shoppers, inconsistent in-store experiences, aggressive but margin-sacrificing promotions, and persistent sales declines despite new initiatives.
• Macro Headwinds: The market faces a “confluence” of global strains—war, inflation, private credit risks—leaving investors without a clear path forward.

The episode contextualizes significant finance headlines, blending market-level strategy with real-world corporate challenges and lucidity on the growing complexity of the investment landscape.

Transcript

[IBM Representative]

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[Bloomberg Host (Karen Moscow)]

I mean, one thing that we'll know that we can look at to return to normal is dealmaking is fundraising. That'll be a sign that people feel comfortable, companies feel comfortable with the current market environment, and it looks like at least one person feels good. How things are shaping up. Bill Ackman has filed to take public his hedge fund firm Pershing Square and a new closed end fund at the same time. Billy Lipschultz is Bloomberg News a senior equities reporter. He's been covering IPOs for years and this is something we had been anticipating barely because there was this effort to list the hedge fund Pershing Square back in 2024 that didn't get very far.

[Billy Lipschultz]

Well, so back in 24. The initial thought process, from our understanding from purchasing square, was we're going to raise a lot of money in a closed end fund. So that way we can have an even higher fee base. We want to raise more than $20 billion. Then that number became like 10, then it became five. Then it didn't actually get off the ground. So that was for the closed end fund. Now we're seeing them come back with this, I'll call it novel pitch, that if you invest in the closed end fund, we'll give you some shares to the actual management company. As a way to entice people to buy. Their pitch was, you know, we had a few billion dollars in demand last time. We now have $2.8 billion in private demand. As long as we can bridge the gap to more than $5 billion in this closed end fund ups our fees and also gives us something else to give investors. And it ultimately takes the company public.

[John (Bloomberg Analyst/Commentator)]

So it's fee. What's the motivator here? Is it fees?

[Billy Lipschultz]

It's creating a vehicle. Well, it goes back to kind of the pitch that I'm just trying to

[John (Bloomberg Analyst/Commentator)]

assess Whether or not this is a sign of healthy markets. And it's a good move.

[Billy Lipschultz]

It's something that they need to do. So point blank, Pershing square failed to raise a handful of billions of dollars. In a closed end fund two years ago.

[John (Bloomberg Analyst/Commentator)]

He's not coming at this from a position of strength, or is he? I know I'm really pressing.

[Billy Lipschultz]

I mean, maybe, okay, things that we know they wanted to raise tens of billions of dollars. Before they did not. They had discussed potentially taking the management company public. Now with this process, both can happen. Potentially raising 5 to $10 billion. Increases the amount of fees that the company can generate. The management company, and it takes the management company public.

[Bloomberg Host (Karen Moscow)]

A lot of people know bill ackman as an activist investor. They think of herbalife. They think of all these other companies that he kind of targeted against or made his case for. He no longer really does that, does he?

[Billy Lipschultz]

No, it's pretty much holding a handful of companies. So whether it's chipotle or Alphabet, brookfield, like, kind of buying a concentrated portfolio and holding it. He's also now even like warren buffett,

[Bloomberg Host (Karen Moscow)]

kind of using that playbook.

[Billy Lipschultz]

That's exactly what he's trying to lean into. Though a bit more vocal on social media with his views, which, depending who you talk to, is bullish or bearish, but really trying to cater to. With this offering to retail investors. Point blank is kind of the view of this pitch.

[John (Bloomberg Analyst/Commentator)]

So now he's going to listen to retail investors and, you know, run with them.

[Billy Lipschultz]

Though he does engage, he shares a lot of things on social media.

[John (Bloomberg Analyst/Commentator)]

I'm just still trying to wrap my head why he'd want to go public with anything and then be open to so much more scrutiny and regulation or whatever.

[Billy Lipschultz]

Well, I think that's kind of the discussion going back to 2024 when they sold a stake in the company purchasing proper. That was viewed as a way to start the process to going public. So there was always a vision to ipoing or taking public the management company in some capacity. And it does benefit by if you're a management company and you're collecting a 2% management fee, the more assets you have under management, the more fees you have, the more attractive the company does that.

[John (Bloomberg Analyst/Commentator)]

So what's the timeline now?

[Billy Lipschultz]

So base case, at a bare minimum, you need 15 days from this filing before you can launch an IPO process takes about a week or so. When you look at the calendar 2 1/2 weeks from now, you get closer to some of the holidays. So maybe this is something that we see starts to hit the road after the Easter holiday when people are back in their seats. But at a minimum, this process cannot formally start for at least 15 days and then we'll move from there. But we're expecting it. Probably just looking at the calendar, call it right on the other side of April.

[Bloomberg Host (Karen Moscow)]

Okay. Again, I mean, some sign of confidence from Bill Ackman that he's moving forward with this in a period where there's a lot of uncertainty about asset prices, about the global economy.

[Billy Lipschultz]

And that's something that they kind of call out in his eight page letter basically saying that, you know, most of the time companies who are looking at IPO will not go when there's volatility in the market. Their pitch is, well, if you're giving us money to turn around and invest well, we should be buying low and then ultimately profiting from there.

[Bloomberg Host (Karen Moscow)]

Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Intelligence coming up after this.

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[IBM Representative]

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[John (Bloomberg Analyst/Commentator)]

Nicole they had results. In fact, they reported worse than expected sales for the last quarter. They continue to struggle to revive years of declining sales. Let's figure out the Kohl's story this morning. Mary Ross Gilbert, senior equity analyst with BI covering retail. We actually Mary just did an informal survey in the studio. Charlie Pellet, the last time he was in a Kohl's was 10 years ago. Scarlet about 10, 12 years ago. Yeah, okay, me actually I do go there, but probably about six months ago. Who is Kohl's customer? I mean clearly not us.

[Mary Ross Gilbert]

So John, the Kohl's customer is largely a low to middle income consumer and I just went there yesterday just to see what the store looked like and I did observe that their customers are definitely seeking value. You don't always see a lot of bags because they're in there carefully choosing, trying to find value. And so this is why the company has brought on deal bars. Those are $10 and under items and now they've announced that they're also bringing in toy bars. So they want to also feature items again $10 and under with different price points of like 499, 599 et. Cetera. So they're really trying to gain traffic and conversion, but really they're also leaning into their private brands. So for example, I did observe that Elsie, Lauren Conrad, which is their women's label, it's a really a fun label and they did a great presentation in the store yesterday. The problem is that the rest of the store is still not really cohesive. So we're really not there in terms of where we need to be, where you can see a real cohesive strategy. And we saw a lot of clearance in the stores as well. So they still have a road ahead, as you highlighted with the four years of stacked comparable sales declines.

[Bloomberg Host (Karen Moscow)]

Yeah, that's quite a track record to have to turn around. Mary According to a company presentation at the earnings, Kohl's admitted that it lost competitive ground during high traffic shopping windows, including Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the week following Christmas. When I read that, I thought that that was a fairly startling admission. How do you interpret that?

[Mary Ross Gilbert]

I wasn't surprised, candidly, because we were there on Black Friday and I could see that shoppers were trying to spend because you get sort of a free the minute you walk in the door, you get a free Kohl's cash and you scratch it. To figure out how much cash you get and trying to find a way to spend it was a challenge because there were a number of excluded items. And while they've increased the number of brands that are not excluded, there's still a fair amount. So there was some confusion and not a lot of customers were walking out with bags is what we observed. So we felt like it was hard pressed, let's say, to find a way to spend the money. So they really needed to do a better job. And that's what they admitted on finding values. And that's why they say that their margins this year are going to be hard pressed because they need to get the sales lift right. They've done such a great job on managing expenses and they'll continue to do so, but until they get the sales moving in the right direction, they're not really going to see that margin improve because they do have to be more promotional, have sharper values. And so that's going to impact margin to a certain extent. But it's important so that they can be competitive because we saw strong results in off price.

[John (Bloomberg Analyst/Commentator)]

As you note, you could hear me early this morning going ouch as I filled up the car was, what did I say? 360 a gallon. Did that come up in the call with executives?

[Bloomberg Host (Karen Moscow)]

Oh, good question.

[John (Bloomberg Analyst/Commentator)]

I mean it's probably the last thing they need for their customers to be paying lots more for other stuff.

[Mary Ross Gilbert]

John, you're absolutely right. And this customer is really going paycheck to paycheck. And so when you do have gas prices going up, that's going to impact their discretionary income and thus the importance that they really have those sharp values in the stores. So that's what they're hoping to achieve. They're really leaning into their private brands and they've got a campaign buy, Kohl's, which features their brands like so for juniors. And that actually did well because they really featured that heavily in the stores. We observed it yesterday. And so, you know, I think. And that also helps on the margin side to a certain extent. Extent. But again, you know, they really need overall sales to rise, to really get margins to move in the right direction.

[Bloomberg Host (Karen Moscow)]

This is a company, as you pointed out, has been struggling for about four years with same store sales, you know, not performing very well. You just look at the sales growth over the last couple of years and it's a bunch of negative numbers starting from 2023 on what is needed here to really change the trajectory of Kohl's. I mean, how much longer can it go in this same direct before it becomes a candidate for takeover by another company or by private equity or. I mean, something needs to change, perhaps.

[Mary Ross Gilbert]

Scarlett. Yeah, you raise a valid point because when you think about it, they do have a juicy real estate portfolio. So that might be attractive to some strategic buyers potentially. So there, there could be some interest here. We also think that with over 1100 stores, do they really need to be operating that many stores? They did say on the call that they have no plans to close or open any stores really. They might have a replacement store here or there, but their objective is really to get this box more productive and also raise digital sales. They really want to take advantage and grow digital sales too. So it's really about reaching a point of sale stability on the top line. And so they're, like I said, leaning into private brands. And they have a number of initiatives, but it's going to take time. So they're already guiding toward comparable sales declines of about 1 to 3% in the first quarter. And when you look at the stacked four year comp decline they're going against or cycling, that's a 17% decline. So that shows you the magnitude of the decline and that's even after gaining a $2 billion revenue business with Sophora. So that means that when you look at the declines in the rest of the business, it's much steeper than the 17% and so that's a critical thing to note. And when you think about Sophora, their comp sales were flat in the quarter. Previously we were seeing increases. So that business has really matured at this point and that's why they've got a number of initiatives that there bringing in more brands to really ignite and try to grow that business.

[Bloomberg Host (Karen Moscow)]

Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Intelligence coming up after this.

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[IBM Representative]

So there's a lot of noise about AI, but time's too tight for more promises. So let's talk about results. At IBM, we work with our employees to integrate technology right into the systems they need. Now a global workforce of 300,000 can use AI to fill their HR questions, resolving 94% of common questions, not noise. Proof of how we can help companies get smarter by putting AI where it actually pays off, deep in the work that moves the business. Let's create smarter business.

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[Bloomberg Host (Karen Moscow)]

You know, when we look at all the volatility in the markets, it's kind of striking how much investors have to juggle in terms of the different factors out there and, you know, the narratives that they need to contend with.

[John (Bloomberg Analyst/Commentator)]

What do we call it? The confluence.

[Bloomberg Host (Karen Moscow)]

Confluence. That's a great word. Matt Griffin knows the confluence very well. Matthew Griffin is our Bloomberg equities reporter, and he's one of the authors of today's Big Take story, which is about how market cracks are widening as war and credit fears are colliding all at once. Matthew, great to see you.

[Matthew Griffin]

Scarlett, great to be on. Thanks for having me.

[Bloomberg Host (Karen Moscow)]

So the war in Iran just introduces a new shock into the global economy, one that already has investors feeling kind of nervous, kind of confused, certainly very uncertain about all the different things that are taking place, whether it's inflation, whether it is the jobs market, whether it's AI or private credit.

[Matthew Griffin]

Yes. And what I would say about this is that it really means two things for markets right now. One is even if the war ends tomorrow, even if oil prices go back down into the 60s per barrel, it's not all clear for investors in the way that maybe you think about last spring, Trump paused the tariffs. You have, you know, the best day for the S&P 500 since 2008 because a lot of the headwinds facing markets just vanish. That's not true now when you have private credit concerns, when you have fears of AI disruption. And then another thing is that the war also heightens some of those other risks. It makes it harder to refinance loans, private credit loans that aren't working. If central banks can't cut rates, it puts more pressure on consumers. So it all just adds up to a really tough spot for Wall street right now.

[John (Bloomberg Analyst/Commentator)]

So what's the playbook?

[Matthew Griffin]

Well, what the head of US rates at AmeriVet told us is the playbook is out the door. And I know that maybe isn't a definite answer, but I think everyone is scrambling to figure out what to do here. You know, one thing that I heard from an investor myself is diversification is really important because there's just a lot that isn't working right now. So you want to make sure you, you know, have some exposure to things that do. But I don't think there is a right answer.

[Bloomberg Host (Karen Moscow)]

One of the final quotes you have in the story is pretty telling, is from Matt Miley, who talks about how a lot of people are not so, so concerned because they say, yeah, okay, oil is spiking, but it's not as bad as it was in the 1970s. You know, okay, there might be a bit of some lofty valuations in tech, but it's nothing like 2000. All these comparisons to previous context kind of give us a false sense of complacency, doesn't it?

[Matthew Griffin]

Yes. And it comes back to the idea of the story. So Matt Maley's a strategist at Miller Tabic. What he says is you can't look at each of these risks on its own because the problems together can add up to create issues for risk assets. And also that the stock market is really expensive, expensive today, so that maybe creates more downside risk even if the initial issues are smaller.

[John (Bloomberg Analyst/Commentator)]

So if a headline crossed and said that the war is over, is it all back to normal?

[Matthew Griffin]

I think that's what we've been hearing is not necessarily. I talked to investors and strategists for a different story last week that was about this question of will Trump and can Trump step in to rescue the markets in the way that he did last spring? And Trump put the Trump put yes. And what a lot of people told me is they really weren't holding their breath for two reasons. One, the market hasn't been shaken as badly as it has been last spring, so the administration may not be at that point yet. Although you did see Trump making some comments yesterday signaling the war will end. But the more profound issue is that a war is not as simple to change as a list of tariff rates on a poster board.

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