The Scoop on Bill Ackman’s Air Products & Chemicals Bombshell

Bill Ackman, Air Products: Bill Ackman’s hedge fund Pershing Square is the largest individual shareholder of Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD), currently owning 9.8% of the company. The activist fund originally announced its APD stake in last quarter’s 13F, and a late-July 13D nearly doubled the size of this position. In their filing with the SEC this afternoon, Pershing Square disclosed its Letter Agreement with Air Products & Chemicals. The letter is attached below.

Bill Ackman in front of Perishi

At current prices, the hedge fund’s 20.6 million share-stake amounts to more than $2.2 billion in market value. The Letter Agreement between Ackman and the Air Products involves several agreements between the parties, including: (1) increasing the size of the Board from 12 to 14 members, (2) that Matthew H. Paull and Seifi Ghasemi fill these extra spots, (3) setting a maximum size on the Board of 15 until the 2014 Annual Meeting, and most importantly (4) the search for a new CEO to replace John E. McGlade who is retiring next year.

Edgar Wachenheim’s Greenhaven Associates and Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital are also invested here, for the hedge fund piggybackers reading this.

Here’s Pershing Square’s letter in full:

EX-99.3, Pershing Square Capital-Air Products and Chemicals

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Disclosure: none