Fighting a proxy war on one front, activist shareholder Bill Ackman finds himself in a high-stakes skirmish against New York Times columnist Joe Nocera, writing a lengthy missive against the business columnist. Nocera, whose column last week attacked Ackman for his proxy fight against Target, yesterday posted Ackman’s response, which included, among other defenses, accusations of “plagiaristic summary.”
Ackman, whose Pershing Square Capital group owns approximately 8 percent of Target, has been waging a proxy fight against the retailer since his fund lost approximately 90 percent of its value through 2008. In his column, Nocera accused the fund manager of launching a “huge, expensive distraction” of a proxy fight to try to conceal his own poor investment decision to purchase the stock at its apex.
Ackman’s rebuttal restated that the fund manager was acting in the interest of shareholder value and improved corporate governance, and takes issue with Nocera’s unflattering portrait.
“Despite Mr. Nocera’s accusation of disingenuousness, never in my speech or otherwise did I suggest that this proxy contest was not a means to an economic end on behalf of the investors I represent,” wrote Ackman. “We took a stake in Target two years ago not because it was a bad company or had bad management, but because we saw opportunities to improve a well-managed great company and create value for Pershing Square and other shareholders.”