Billionaire activist investor Bill Ackman has announced plans to float a fund on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, with the hope of raising at least $5 billion from non-U.S. institutional investors.
Ackman's firm Pershing Square has already secured $1.5 billion from 30 "cornerstone" investors and is seeking to raise an additional $2 billion for the new fund, to be named Pershing Square Holdings (PSH). The group expects trading of the shares to commence on October 13.
"The IPO of Pershing Square Holdings is a transformational event for Pershing Square and all of our investors," CEO of PSCM, Bill Ackman said in a statement.
"We expect that the public listing of PSH will substantially enhance the stability of our capital base enabling us to invest a greater percentage of our assets in activist commitments on a long‐term basis, and improving our ability to take advantage of market dislocations when they arise," he said.
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Pershing Square will also invest $100 million itself in the fund, which will be separate from Ackman's $14 billion Pershing Square Capital Management.
The firm said it expected the new fund to have a market capitalization of at least $5 billion on completion of the initial public offering. UBS and the London branch of Deutsche Bank will act as joint global co-ordinators and joint underwriters.
Known for his $1 billion bet against health shake company Herbalife, Ackman has recently teamed up with Valeant Pharmaceuticals to pursue a hostile takeover bid for botox maker Allergan.
Activist hedge fund strategies, run by the likes of Ackman and rival Carl Icahn, have become increasingly popular. Investors have poured in over $18 billion since the start of 2013, bringing the asset base growth of these strategies to over $30 billion when performance is included, according to figures from hedge fund data provider Eurekahedge.
—By CNBC's Jenny Cosgrave: Follow her on Twitter @jenny_cosgrave