New York Times – William A. Ackman makes a lot of noise for someone in the hush-hush business of hedge funds. He harangues executives, goads boards, talks this stock up and that one down — all in search of profit.
On Thursday, someone listened. After a campaign by Mr. Ackman that had lasted for months, one of the nation’s largest operators of shopping malls, General Growth Properties, filed for bankruptcy protection.
Now Mr. Ackman, who runs a hedge fund called Pershing Square Capital Management, is positioning his fund to pick up the pieces. Pershing controls 25 percent of General Growth and will play a crucial role in restructuring the company. If Mr. Ackman gets his way, he and his investors could walk off with hundreds of millions of dollars in profits.
