Ex-AIG Legal Chief Pivots to Ackman-Backed Howard Hughes Spinoff

Luciana “Lucy” Fato, the former top lawyer at American International Group Inc., is the general counsel at a newly-spunoff company backed by Bill Ackman.

Seaport Entertainment Group Inc., which includes a mixed-use development at New York City’s South Street Seaport and the Las Vegas Aviators baseball team, separated this month from real estate company Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. Ackman, a hedge fund billionaire, owns nearly 40% of both companies.

Ackman had a role in recommending that Seaport bring on Fato, as the two have mutual acquaintances, said a person familiar with the matter. Fato’s Aug. 1 employment agreement with Seaport included a restricted stock award valued at $212,500.

Lucy Fato

Fato, who was perennially one of the highest-paid legal chiefs at US public companies, ended her role as AIG’s vice chair March 31, six months after she stepped down from her job as the company’s legal and government affairs chief. She was AIG’s top lawyer for six years and still owns $13.4 million in company stock.

The former capital markets partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell had also been general counsel for S&P Global Inc., a financial services company, and deputy general counsel and corporate secretary at professional services provider Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc.

Seaport derives its name from New York’s historic South Street Seaport neighborhood, where the company owns a ground lease covering a recently redeveloped mix of entertainment, retail, and restaurant properties, including the Tin Building by Jean-Georges. Seaport owns a 25% stake in the restaurant chain named after French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

Seaport last week paid $40 million to secure air rights to 250 Water Street, a vacant lot that’s been the subject of long-running litigation. An appellate court ruling in May gave Seaport predecessor Howard Hughes the go-ahead to proceed with an $850 million mixed-use development plan for the site.

The Aviators, the top minor league baseball affiliate for the Oakland Athletics, is a name that refers to the mid-20th century industrialist and pilot Howard Hughes. The conglomerate he left behind that carries his name has divested assets over the years and is now focused on master-planned communities.

Ackman’s Role

Ackman invested in Howard Hughes more than a decade ago, and his hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management LP increased its stake in 2022. He is reportedly now looking to take the company private.

Ackman last month withdrew an initial public offering for a US closed-end fund. That matter would’ve yielded $5.4 million in legal fees and expenses for Pershing Square USA Ltd., according to a securities filing.

Sullivan & Cromwell, which advised Ackman’s firm on that listing and a related transaction, also had a role on Pershing Square’s investments in Howard Hughes and Seaport. Ackman didn’t immediately respond to a comment request.

Latham & Watkins represented Howard Hughes and Seaport on their split, while Sidley Austin counseled Wells Fargo as the deal manager, according to securities filings. Delaware’s Richards, Layton & Finger advised Howard Hughes’s board.

Howard Hughes hired Joseph Valane this year as general counsel. Valane had been general counsel for Blackstone Inc.’s Revantage real estate business. He succeeded former Howard Hughes legal chief Peter Riley Jr., who earned more than $3.1 million last year, according to a proxy filing.