By C Nivedita
(Reuters) – Pershing Square Tontine Holdings Ltd, the blank check company backed by billionaire investor Bill Ackman, has increased the size of its initial public offering by $1 billion to $4 billion, the largest ever IPO by a special purpose acquisition company.
The firm plans to go public with 200 million units at $20 each, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.
A SPAC uses IPO proceeds and borrowed funds to acquire a company, typically within two years. Investors are not notified in advance which company a SPAC will buy.
Ackman, whose New York-based hedge fund manages more than $10 billion in assets, may ultimately have $7 billion to invest.
In the filing, Ackman said (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1811882/000119312520191638/d930055ds1a.htm) the company will seek to acquire a venture capital-backed firm that he called a “mature unicorn” which has chosen to remain private.
Reuters first reported Ackman’s plans in June.
Ackman, best known as an activist shareholder who calls for changes at companies, was also a co-sponsor of Justice Holding Inc, a SPAC which acquired restaurant chain Burger King for $1.4 billion in cash in 2012.
Ackman’s latest vehicle will handily beat out former Citigroup Inc
Churchill Capital late on Sunday agreed to take healthcare payment solutions provider Multiplan Inc public in an $11 billion deal.
Ackman is looking to list the SPAC’s shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PSTH.U”.
(Reporting by C Nivedita; Editing by Sriraj Kaluvilla)
