Ackman’s $5 Billion Pershing IPO Squeaks Across the Finish Line

Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square is finally going public after years of social media-hyping about building an empire modeled on Warren Buffett’s, and even after raising $5 billion for his vision, the hedge-fund billionaire faces another test.

As the New York Stock Exchange readies the opening trades following the combined initial public offering of his closed-end fund and his asset manager, the 59-year-old’s latest venture isn’t out of the woods. The funds raised for Pershing Square USA Ltd. came at the low end of a fundraising target of as much as $10 billion, and the majority of the cash ...