Bill Ackman to wind up Spac and return $4bn to investors

Bill Ackman attempted to take a 10% stake in Universal Music, which was being spun off by the French media conglomerate Vivendi, through his Spac last year. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters

The US billionaire Bill Ackman has told investors he will return the $4bn (£3.4bn) he raised for the biggest-ever special purpose acquisition company (Spac), after failing to find a suitable target firm to take public through a merger.

Ackman wrote to shareholders in Pershing Square Tontine Holdings (PSTH) to say he would return the sum, blaming the faster-than-expected economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic for the failure.