Pershing Square Capital Management, the hedge fund founded by billionaire Bill Ackman, has taken a stake in Nike as the company tries to turn its business around and revive falling sales.
The hedge fund owned about 0.2 per cent of the company as of the end of June, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday. Nike’s shares rose almost 5 per cent in after-market trading in New York.
The world’s largest sportswear maker by revenue has struggled in recent months even as its chief executive John Donahoe has attempted to turn the group’s fortunes around. In late June, Nike issued a bleak forecast for the upcoming year that prompted its shares to fall 20 per cent the following day.
Ackman has in recent years abandoned his once public and hard-charging activist strategies. Instead, he has pivoted to a less vocal approach, building stakes in strong-performing companies such as restaurant group Chipotle Mexican Grill and hotelier Hilton Worldwide.
