Get Ready to Rumble!

Can Bill Ackman do for Procter & Gamble what he did for the likes of Kraft, Fortune Brands and Family Dollar Stores? The billionaire manager of Pershing Square says he has a plan on how to boost P&G’s profits, but he’ll have to convince Warren Buffett, who’s Berkshire Hathaway is the largest holder of P&G stock.


Ackman has already given Kraft a big lift. Considering both investors prefer long-term investments in a small number of companies, it isn’t far fetched that Buffett would back Ackman, say the folks at Motley Fool, the investment news service. The combined stakes of Buffett and Ackman would be impossible for P&G management to ignore.


For now, however, Ackman isn’t revealing any plans. Observers estimate he holds about $2 billion in P&G shares, but that represents less than 2% of P&G’s outstanding share; clearly, Ackman will need some support to make big changes at P&G. He’s miffed that P&G’s stock price lags rivals such as Colgate and J&J.P&G stock was down 8.17% at the end of June, while its competitors had positive appreciation throughout the year. P&G also had the lowest EPS and second lowest profit margin of the consumer giants.