Borders' top shareholder buys $22 million beach estate
Borders Group Inc.'s top investor, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management, lost a humbling $125 million as the Ann Arbor-based bookstore chain tumbled into Chapter 11 bankruptcy Wednesday.
But Ackman's new abode is far from humble.
The activist investor has purchased a $22 million beach estate on Ocean Road in Bridgehampton, N.Y., according to the New York Post.
The Post reports:
The property is 6 acres, with an eight-bedroom, 8½-bathroom mansion, an infinity-edge pool, a tennis court and views of Sagg Pond and the ocean.
The acquisition comes as Borders is scrambling to stay afloat. The company plans to cut at least 200 stores, leading to thousands of job losses nationwide.
Ackman, like all of Borders' more than 2,000 shareholders, will likely have his equity wiped out by Borders' bankruptcy.
Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.
Comments
Edie64
Sat, Feb 19, 2011 : 11:16 p.m.
Nate, you probably already know this, but many Borders employees paychecks bounced this past week. Payroll is trying to remedy the situation as best they can and as fast as they can, but many people live check to check and are in a spot of trouble because of this. Classy, huh?
MB111
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 1:41 p.m.
@ Jon Saalberg How does one profit on a $125 Million loss? By that logic the State government must be thriving due to the massive deficit.
Chase Ingersoll
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 1:40 p.m.
Nathan: Can you check and see if Mr. Ackerman did not do what is being learned to be common practice among hedge funds - to take out insurance against any losses, and whether or not the provider of such policy was AIG which at last count has received $150 BILLION in BAILOUT FUNDS.
Jon Saalberg
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 4:07 a.m.
C'mon righties - really, you see nothing even remotely distasteful about someone buying a multi-million dollar manse while they profit from the demise of a company that they seem to have invested in solely for tax purposes? I think this is the fundamental difference between liberals and the right. Neither sees anything wrong with making money, but the right also sees nothing wrong with throwing the working masses on the scrap heap of ruin to make that money. In the immortal words of Mel Brooks, "It's good to be king".
Jimmy McNulty
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 1:03 p.m.
Umm, this person lost $125 Million in Borders' bankruptcy. It sounds as if he stuck with it until the end. How is this distasteful? According to you, not only making money is a crime, but losing it is "distasteful" too?
MIKE
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 4:47 a.m.
What kind of home should he be allowed to buy? Does it have to be no bigger than yours? And what makes you think he invested with the intention of losing money?
David Briegel
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 1:59 a.m.
Macabre, you must be having a really good evening! A2.com endorses mostly Republicans. You've been around enough to know that much! And, that bias is very tiresome!
Macabre Sunset
Thu, Feb 17, 2011 : 11:46 p.m.
Always pleasant when the A2.com wing of the Democratic Party tries to drum up hatred for anyone who has more than we do. Nathan, your campaign is tiresome and only confirms the stereotypes about blogger politics.
Jamie
Thu, Feb 17, 2011 : 10:23 p.m.
I'm surprised driving out everyone who spent their careers in the book business and bringing in other Wall Street geniuses to run the place didn't work so well.
Huh?
Thu, Feb 17, 2011 : 9:59 p.m.
How is this News? He was a shareholder, not an affiliated officer or director of the company, plus why does he have to be an activist? Is this Gecko's cousin? was he trying to bleed the company through a proxy to get his people in so he could chop it up and sell it off? Nate i dont know why i get sucked in time after time with your misleading headlines, and lifted stories, Hopefully this doesnt get censored by the author but im sure it will. Huh?
Alan Goldsmith
Thu, Feb 17, 2011 : 9:04 p.m.
This is a story, why exactly? Can we read about the Newhouse Family beach estates next? Please please?
cinnabar7071
Thu, Feb 17, 2011 : 8:39 p.m.
It'll be nice when the day comes that people realize they are where they are because of the choices they make in they own lives, and stop blaming everybody else. I didn't go to college and I don't own a vacation home, thats my fault, not Rick Snyders, or Bill Ackman. But I did work hard all of my life and life is good!
John B.
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 12:21 a.m.
Many years ago, when Malcolm Forbes was asked what was the best way to become wealthy in America, he replied 'have a wealthy father who dies young; that's what I did....'
cinnabar7071
Thu, Feb 17, 2011 : 10:56 p.m.
Good luck with being poor, only the man in the mirror can help you, cause I wont and the gov't shouldn't either.
bugjuice
Thu, Feb 17, 2011 : 10:47 p.m.
This is the fallacy of the so called Protestant work ethic, when poor people were told that they are poor because obviously they weren't as pious as the rich people, who got rich because they believed more deeply in God than poor people do. Today we have removed the Protestant part and just call it a work ethic, where the rich believe those who are poor got that way because they just didn't work hard enough to pull themselves up by their worn out bootstraps. Face it, the game is rigged in favor of the wealthy and connected and you only get that way if your are wealthy and connected.
ffej440
Thu, Feb 17, 2011 : 10:04 p.m.
How about when banks only lend money to chain stores and cut the little guys out. Then the city, state etc.. give them tax breaks to beat the independant owners some more. The rich get richer. I don't agree it all has to do with choice, unless you mean the choice of the wealthy to keep the rest poor!
David Briegel
Thu, Feb 17, 2011 : 8:32 p.m.
The economy hurt him so bad he had to pass on a 30 million dollar estate and settle for the cheaper one. He needs a bigger tax cut, obviously!
Nathan Bomey
Thu, Feb 17, 2011 : 8:13 p.m.
Thanks, Tom! Fixed it.
Tom Wieder
Thu, Feb 17, 2011 : 8:07 p.m.
As the original story in the NY Post makes clear, the estate is in Bridgehampton, NY on Long Island - in the "Hamptons."
xmo
Thu, Feb 17, 2011 : 7:53 p.m.
Obviously, this guy has no cents when it come to money$
John B.
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 12:16 a.m.
LOL! Your Freudian slip is showing....
John B.
Thu, Feb 17, 2011 : 7:36 p.m.
Sometimes, it's tough being filthy-rich. I feel for him....
MB111
Thu, Feb 17, 2011 : 7:26 p.m.
I doubt this house is in Manhattan - Manhattan Beach perhaps?
David Briegel
Thu, Feb 17, 2011 : 7:22 p.m.
Well, he just got a 125 million tax write off. Think how much he had to make/steal to be able to lose that much. Remember, only us little people pay taxes. Just ask Gov Rick!