Ackman SPAC Illegal Under Proposed SEC Rule, Investor Claims

There’s “no doubt” that Bill Ackman’s SPAC is illegal under a proposed SEC rule, a shareholder suing the blank-check company said.

Lawyers for George Assad noted in a filing Thursday in Manhattan federal court that the Securities and Exchange Commission expressed concern when it proposed its rule on March 30 that “certain SPAC structures and practices may raise serious questions as to their status as investment companies.”

Assad’s suit, which is backed by former SEC commissioner Robert Jackson and Yale Law School professor John Morley, claims Ackman’s SPAC, Pershing Square Tontine Holdings Ltd., is illegally acting as ...