Pershing Square Capital, the $12+-billion-dollar hedge fund run by activist Bill Ackman, has reportedly acquired a passive stake in Nike Inc.
The size of the investment is unclear, but Ackman revealed the investment at his firm’s annual client dinner and indicated the firm had already earned a 30-percent return for his portfolio, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The activist hedge fund will not pressure the shoe apparel company for changes, according to sources.
The bet on Nike is unusual in that Ackman has no plans to push the company’s management to make changes, leaving it as one of his few “passive investments,” according to Reuters, which also reported on the investment.
Ackman, one of the world’s most closely-watched activist investors whose bets have often helped push up a target company’s share price, bought Nike in October when it was trading around $53 a share. It closed trading on Friday at $68.04.
Photo courtesy Nike
