Howard Hughes Stock Pops on Billionaire Bill Ackman's $85 Per Share Offer
Key Takeaways
Billionaire
Bill Ackman
’s investment firm Pershing Square has offered to buy the remainder of real estate developer Howard Hughes Holdings (
HHH
) for $85 per share, driving its stock higher.
The $85-per-share offer represented an 18% premium over Friday’s closing price of $71.78. Shares of Howard Hughes jumped 9% to $78.68 intraday Monday and are roughly flat over the past year as a result.
Ackman called Howard Hughes’ previous stock performance “extremely disappointing,” noting it has generated just a 2.2%
compound annual return
since going public in 2010.
Pershing already owned 38% of Howard Hughes as of Nov. 14, according to a
Securities and Exchange Commission
filing. To buy the remainder, Ackman proposed the creation of a Pershing Square subsidiary that would
merge
with Howard Hughes, effectively buying the remaining shares.
Current Howard Hughes investors would have the option to accept the $85 offer or roll-over their investment into the new combined company, the letter said.
While the real estate operations would remain unchanged, Ackman said his goal is to turn Howard Hughes Holdings into a "modern day
Berkshire Hathaway
(
BRK.A
;
BRK.B
)."
Howard Hughes did not immediately respond to a request for comment.