One Oracle of Omaha just isn't enough

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Warren Buffett should be pretty pleased right now.

Activist investor and prolific X poster Bill Ackman announced (via a lengthy post on X, of course) that he is planning to create his own holding company, mimicking Buffett’s legendary transformation of Berkshire Hathaway from beleaguered textile manufacturer to an over-$1 trillion sprawling conglomerate.

Ackman’s target? Texas-based real estate firm Howard Hughes Holdings. Ackman’s firm, Pershing Square, already owns 37.6% of the company, but has submitted a proposal to buy 10 million Howard Hughes shares at $90 per share. That’s up from a previous offer of $85 per share, and would mean Pershing Square will then own 48% of the real estate developer and essentially have control over the business.

If Pershing’s proposal goes through, Ackman would become chairman and CEO of Howard Hughes. The plan would include a very generous fee structure that could pay Pershing up to $72 million per year, Barron’s reported.

Howard Hughes dropped 8.79% today.

Ackman’s antics

Ackman, who became famous for waging a brutal activist war against Herbalife beginning in 2012, doesn’t exactly emulate Buffett’s understated, reserved style.

The Pershing Square CEO has made headlines for sharing his thoughts on pretty much every controversial issue you can think of, and endorsed President Trump in the 2024 election.

“When I entered the investment business at 26 and started a small hedge fund with $3 million under management, I thought that perhaps some day I could build a diversified holding company like Berkshire with an extraordinary long-term record,” Ackman explained via X.

Despite Ackman’s bid, it is unclear right now if the Howard Hughes board and special committee overseeing the proposal is supportive of Ackman’s latest passion project.

“We don’t see how HHH’s independent board could sign off on this transaction, especially as HHH doesn’t need the $900m proposed capital infusion,” explained Piper Sandler analyst Alex Goldarb in a note.

But if there’s one thing Ackman has shown us through long-winded X post after X post, it's that he’s persistent.—LB