Bill Ackman Accepts 'Taking A Look' At Tesco Plc Without Any Help From Warren Buffett, Doesn't Consider McDonald's 'Cheap'

After being crowned as the number 1 hedge fund of 2014 by Bloomberg, Pershing Square Holdings Ltd CEO and founder Bill Ackman was on Bloomberg TV to discuss about the drop in oil prices, investing in Tesco plc and McDonald's Corporation MCD and the listing of Pershing Square Holdings in Amsterdam.

From $11.5 Billion To $18 Billion In AUM, What Now?

“We’re looking for what we normally look for, which is we’re looking for very high quality companies, usually very large businesses, dominant, simple, predictable, free cash flow-generative companies that have -- I guess as Buffett would describe them -- a moat around them,” Ackman said.

“Brand, unique assets, long-term contracts, things that protect the business from new entrants. Businesses that are not exposed to commodity prices, fortunately.”

Related Link: Update: Pershing Square Responds To Herbalife

After Such A Successful Year, Why Are You Not On A Vacation?

“So I’m here because we took a company public here called Pershing Square Holdings, listed on Euronext. I think no one knows it actually exists even though it has almost $7 billion of capital. I think it was the largest IPO in Europe last year, interestingly enough, about a $2.7 billion IPO,” Ackman replied.

How About Buying A Big Company In UK?

“We did look at Tesco, I’ll have to admit that. But we've had our difficulties with retail and a lot of structural changes going on that make that a more difficult business. We look occasionally at companies in the U.K.,” Ackman said.

When asked if he asked Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

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Posted In: MediaBill AckmanBloombergEuronextPershing Squaretesco plcWarren Buffett
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