Last week, the Ridesharing Forum team reported how Uber’s stocks sank significantly, urging the financial and business community to take action. The renowned billionaire hedge fund manager William Albert “Bill” Ackman, who bought stakes in Uber, is taking the lead on the action. Read on for the scoop.
Ackman takes $2.3 billion stake in Uber
Uber has a new investor: activist investor Ackman. He has taken a stake amounting to over $2.3 billion, which he got, interestingly, at a “massive discount,” ridesharing media point out.
He was quite “alarmed” when Uber recently posted weaker-than-expected earnings fourth quarter of last year, though they reached the targets. On Friday, Uber’s shares closed at 6.6 percent higher, giving the company a market capitalization of almost $160 billion, the media said.
Who is Bill?
Ackman is regarded as an activist investor because of his investment style. Like what he did with Uber, he would invest by taking risks with a company moving downhill, preventing bad events from happening in the future.
He is a hedge fund manager who founded and presided over Pershing Square Capital Management, a hedge fund management company. This does not significantly reduce his net worth, which was estimated to be $9.3 billion on Forbes.
Raised in New York, this investor of Jewish descent is award-winning. He graduated with a magna cum laude from this Bachelor’s degree in Arts from Harvard College. In the 1990s, he was taking up a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
Happy about his action
Here’s a statement from Ackman, who shared his thoughts via X: “We believe that Uber is one of the best-managed and highest-quality businesses in the world. Remarkably, it can still be purchased at a massive discount to its intrinsic value. This favorable combination of attributes is extremely rare, particularly for a large-cap company.”
However, Uber and his company have not posted their official reactions yet.
What financial experts think
What Ackman did is typical of his investment style and motives. His hedge fund management company has $13 billion in assets under management. Financial experts say he is into taking big, significant swings at a tiny handful of stocks. Yet, his portfolio remains conservative, as it includes Uber stock.
“Ackman is also known as an outspoken advocate for change at companies, though in recent periods he has shown a preference for being a passive investor,” the financial experts reveal. “… It is clear that’s the path he is taking here.”
For those who watched his move, his new stake in Uber was “so fortuitous,” helping the company break out from a downward turn it has seen itself on today.
Uber is one of the world’s biggest ridesharing services that allows its users to request rides via the official app. Or, they may also use the app to request deliveries or drive for the company.
Following Ackman’s investment, Uber’s stocks surged to historic highs.
However, Uber’s stocks are still trading at 12 percent, which is below its all-time high hit last October.