Michael Bloomberg. Photo credit: Jim Gillooly/PEI, licensed under Creative Commons

Pershing Square Tontine, the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) and the biggest of its kind spearheaded by hedge fund tycoon Bill Ackman, has held merger talks with Bloomberg LP, the financial software and media company founded and led by entrepreneur-cum-politician Mike Bloomberg, according to a report from the New York Post. If such a deal pulls through, it’ll see Bloomberg LP, one of the biggest private companies in the US and one that has stayed private for nearly four decades, debut on the New York Stock Exchange by merging with Ackman’s Pershing Square Tontine Holdings.

According to the New York Post, Mike Bloomberg who’s the current Chief Executive of Bloomberg LP has spoken directly with Ackman over a possible deal. A spokesman for the company, however, denies such a deal being considered.

Before now, Ackman himself noted of having held merger talks with Airbnb and Stripe, two technology companies each valued in the tens of billions by private investors. Ackman has said that he’s targeting a merger with a company valued at between $10 billion and $15 billion and using the $4 billion raised from investors to buy a minority stake in a merging company. Bloomberg LP would fit well in that scenario, where Pershing Square Tontine possibly grabs a significant stake in the company which has long been controlled by its largest shareholder Mike Bloomberg. 

Pershing Square Tontine is notably the biggest-ever special purpose acquisition company to date, having raised $4 billion from investors in its debut in July this year. The SPAC, or blank-check firm as they’re fondly called, is now on the hunt for what could be the biggest SPAC deal ever.

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