Bill Ackman certainly likes the Howard Hughes Corporation. He helped create its present form back in 2010 and has served as its chairman ever since. It’s done very well for him, having at times soared nearly fourfold from its debut and serving as one of the drivers of the Ackmanaissance.
Or, at least, it had so served: While other parts of the Pershing Square portfolio have admirably weathered the retail apocalypse, HHC—which operates all manner of malls, along with equally hard-hit offices and hotels—was not so lucky. Its stock lost two-thirds of its value in the early days of the pandemic.