Bill Ackman, the billionaire founder of the hedge fund Pershing Square, has vowed to sever ties with the Amsterdam stock exchange in response to sectarian violence in the Dutch capital last week.
In the wake of reports of antisemitic violence against Israeli football fans in Amsterdam last Thursday, Ackman said he planned to pull Pershing Square’s secondary listing from the Amsterdam Euronext exchange and transfer those shares to the London Stock Exchange.
“Concentrating the listing on one exchange, the LSE, and leaving a jurisdiction that fails to protect its tourists and minority populations combine both good business and moral principles. We can also save money and improve liquidity for shareholders to boot,” Ackman posted on X.
Ackman also said he would push for Universal Music Group, a company on whose board he sits, also to depart Euronext in favor of a U.S. listing.
Ackman said UMG traded at a considerable discount on Euronext because its primary listing in Amsterdam prevented it from being added to the S&P 500 and other popular indices.
“Pershing Square has a contractual right to cause UMG to be listed in the US. We will exercise this right and achieve a US listing for UMG no later than some time next year,” he said.
Violence erupts in Amsterdam
Reports emerged last week that Israelis were targeted in a series of antisemitic attacks in Amerstdam after local football club Ajax’s Europa League fixture with Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday.
Amsterdam’s mayor Femke Halsema described how Israeli fans were targeted in a series of “hit and run” attacks on Thursday night by "gangs of guys on scooters." Police officials said visiting fans were pelted with fireworks, and five people were taken to hospital with injuries. Another 30 were reported to have suffered minor injuries.
“I am deeply ashamed of the behavior that unfolded,” Halsema told reporters. “On Telegram groups, people talked of going to hunt down Jews. It’s so terrible I can’t find the words for it.”
Some 62 arrests were initially made in the build-up to the fixture, however, officials said this didn’t relate to the reported “hit and run” incidents in the wake of the match.
"In several places in the city, supporters were attacked, abused, and pelted with fireworks," said city officials.
The attacks received condemnation from leaders across the globe, including U.S. president Joe Biden.
"The anti-Semitic attacks on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam are despicable and echo dark moments in history when Jews were persecuted," Biden wrote on X.
Amsterdam’s police chief Peter Holla said there had been “incidents on both sides” after Maccabi Tel Aviv fans tore down a flag, destroyed a taxi, and burned a Palestinian flag in Amsterdam’s main square on Wednesday night.
In videos verified by Reuters, Maccabi fans were filmed chanting slogans including “F*** you Palestine" in front of the National Monument on Amsterdam's central Dam square.
There have been increased reports of antisemitic incidents across Europe in the wake of last year’s October 7 attacks. A survey by the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) of more than 8,000 Jews in 13 EU countries found that 96% had encountered antisemitism.
Since last week’s disruption, Israel has advised fans to avoid traveling to Paris for the country’s international friendly with France over fear of further violence.
France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, will attend the game in a show of solidarity with Israel.
More than 45,000 people are thought to have been killed since October 7 last year, the vast majority of which are Palestinians.
Ackman's views on Israel-Palestine
Ackman, estimated to be worth $7.7 billion, has been outspoken on the Israel-Palestine conflict since the Hamas-led October 7 attack on its neighbor last year.
Last year, Ackman criticized Harvard students who signed a letter blaming Israel for the Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,200 people in Israel. He called for the names of the signatories to be released so that “none of us inadvertently hire any of their members.”
He has said his marriage to wife Neri Oxman, an Israeli, gave him a "visceral connection" to the October 7 attacks.
The Washington Post reported that Ackman was part of a group of influential billionaires seeking to "change the narrative" of the Israel-Hamas war to turn U.S. public opinion in favor of Israel.
Writing on X last month, Ackman said: “I am anti-terrorist, not anti-Palestinian,” as he criticized Hamas’s role in the long-running conflict with Israel.
Ackman’s desire to move Pershing Square out of Euronext is likely to be easier to achieve than convincing UMG to follow.
A spokesperson for UMG told the Hollywood Reporter that “Pershing has the right to request a listing in the U.S. subject to a Pershing entity selling at least $500 million in UMG shares as part of the listing.”
However, they added: “Pershing does not have any right to require UMG to become a U.D. domiciled company or delist from Euronext Amsterdam.”
