Pershing Square, a hedge fund run by investor Bill Ackman, has sold 20 million shares of US-based confectionery giant Mondelez International.
Following the sale, the investor now owns only a 5.6% of the confectionery company.
In a letter to investors, William Ackman stated that the reason for reduction in stake because "Mondelez had become an outsized position in light of its initially large size and its outperformance relative to other holdings."
The letter also stated that the company had no plans to sell its other investments at present.
Prior to the sale of Mondelez stake, Pershing Square owned 43 million shares in the company or 7.5% stake. The hedge fund had been seeking to sell Mondelez stake since August 2015, when its position was revealed.
The announcement came a day after Pershing Square lost around $800m when stocks of drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals plummeted after speculations rose that it might default on its debt, while posting an abysmal financial outlook.
Regarding Valeant, William Ackman addressed the investors in his letter stating: "We are going to take a much more proactive role at the company to protect and maximize the value of our investment. We continue to believe that the value of the underlying business franchises that comprise Valeant are worth multiples of the current market price."
William Ackman's investment in Valeant was made around a year ago, when Pershing had posted over 37% gains. However, the gains were short-lived. The size of Ackman's fund dropped dramatically to roughly $12bn at the end of February from about $19bn in early 2015.
Image: Pershing Square cuts stake in Oreo biscuit maker. Photo: Courtesy of Evan-Amos/Wikipedia.