Two years after the failed attempt to take Pershing Square public , Bill Ackman is about to carry out a dual IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). And he's counting on the fame he gained on social media to make the operation a success.

The investor – whose net worth is estimated at around US$8.2 billion, according to Bloomberg – plans to conduct the dual listing on Wednesday, April 29, launching both a new equity fund, Pershing Square USA, and his hedge fund , Pershing Square .

To attract investors, he is offering a share of Pershing Square, which has approximately US$19 billion in assets under management, to everyone who buys five shares of Pershing Square USA.

Fame, however, doesn't seem to be making a difference at first. According to reporting by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) , Pershing Square USA was on track to raise $5 billion, the lower limit of Ackman's target of $5 billion to $10 billion.

More than 80% of the demand came from institutional investors, not individual investors, some of the sources interviewed for this report said.

The reception from individual investors is seen as crucial in determining the outcome of an IPO . Their enthusiasm can either boost the shares in early trading, encouraging more investors to join, or cause them to plummet if those who invested in the IPO decide to sell.

Ackman wants to capitalize on his fame on social media to make the IPO happen. With 2.1 million followers on X (formerly Twitter) , the manager has become a well-known commentator, for better or for worse, on a wide range of subjects, from the protests that took place at universities in the United States last year to the New York mayoral elections.

His media profile was an argument he used in 2024. Ackman even said in a meeting with potential investors at the time that his presence on X would help secure a high valuation for the IPO.

In addition to fame, he also made adjustments to the offering and launched an offensive to attract investors. Pershing Square reduced the minimum purchase amount from US$5,000 to US$250 and closed deals with retail brokerages Charles Schwab and Robinhood to offer the shares to the vast user bases of these platforms.

Ackman participated in a podcast with Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev and visited wealth management offices of several banks to present the proposal to financial advisors.

These moves, plus the asset manager's share offering, aim to mitigate the fact that funds like Pershing Square USA are trading at a discount to their net asset value (NAV). The firm has a fund listed in London, Pershing Square Holdings, which trades at a discount of around 20%.

The current offering is much more modest than the one originally presented . The initial plan was to raise around US$25 billion, in what would have been the largest IPO since Saudi Aramco , the Saudi Arabian oil company, raised US$29.4 billion in January 2020 when it sold a stake in its share capital. BTG Pactual acted as one of the bookrunners for the fund's IPO.

He tried to move forward by lowering expectations to a range of $2.5 billion to $4 billion, but eventually gave up.

In the current transaction, Ackman has secured $2.8 billion in investment commitments in advance from anchor investors, including pension funds , insurance companies, family offices, and ultra-high-net-worth investors.

For this audience, Ackman also "sweetened" the deal. According to the WSJ , the group will receive one and a half shares of Pershing Square for every five shares of Pershing Square USA acquired. Investors also agreed not to sell their shares for at least six months.