Ackman wants to move Pershing Square, UMG from Amsterdam after attacks
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Billionaire Bill Ackman said on Friday he would seek to delist investment firm Pershing Square Holdings and move record label Universal Music Group (AS:UMG) away from Amsterdam, following attacks on Israeli soccer fans.
In a statement on X, Ackman said Pershing Square’s board had already been considering the move and « events in Amsterdam during the last 24 hours provide an appropriate tipping point » to follow through.
In the attacks, supporters of Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv were targeted after a match, by what Amsterdam’s mayor described as « antisemitic hit and run squads ».
Pershing Square, an investment holding company in which Ackman and his family own a 23% stake, is also listed on the London Stock Exchange (LON:LSEG) and most trading takes place in London.
« Concentrating the listing on one exchange, the LSE, and leaving a jurisdiction that fails to protect its tourists and minority populations combines both good business and moral principles, » Ackman wrote in a message on X.
« We can also save money and improve liquidity for shareholders to boot. »
Ackman said he had separately begun talks with United Music Group, on whose board he sits, to move its listing and headquarters to the United States.
