Billionaire investor Bill Ackman laments his failed SPAC deal, sounds the inflation alarm and predicts a massive economic boom in a new interview. Here are the 12 best quotes

• Bill Ackman discussed the demise of his PSPC deal and said he is already considering replacement targets.
• The leader of Pershing Square predicted higher interest rates and a post-pandemic economic boom.
• Ackman has also sounded the inflation alarm, pointing to soaring house prices and rising wages.
• See more stories on the Insider business page.

Bill Ackman lamented his unsuccessful PSPC deal, hinted he already had alternative targets in mind, and predicted a massive economic boom in an interview with CNBC this week.

The billionaire investor and head of Pershing Square also sounded the alarm bells on soaring house prices and wage inflation, forecasted interest rate hikes in the coming months and trumpeted the outlook long term of Universal Music Group.

Here are the 12 best Ackman quotes from the interview, slightly edited and condensed for clarity:

1. “I moved heaven and earth to make the deal happen, until the government lifted its foot and said no.” – referring to the deal he made for Pershing Square Tontine Holdings (PSTH) to buy 10% of Universal Music Group for around $ 4 billion.

2. “The SEC has raised a deal killer. They said the transaction violated NYSE SPAC rules. I would call it a dagger at the heart of the transaction, it put Tontine in a very awkward position. “- Ackman later added that he was not critical of the SEC and that he respected the agency’s judgment..

3. “For the sake of our investors, we gave them a gift. The complexity is okay if you get something for free. – Referring to its plan to grant PSTH shareholders the right to purchase its proposed SPARC vehicle at a fixed price.

4. “Having a royalty on people who listen to music is a really great place. “- touting Pershing Square’s future investment in Universal Music now that PSTH does not buy a stake.

5. “Netflix is ​​amazing, but they have to spend billions and billions of dollars to create content that isn’t so valuable the day after it’s watched. The musical content is truly timeless.

6. “The good news is that we have a good start. We spoke to a lot of people. We can easily resume these conversations. – commenting on PSTH’s prospects of concluding a PSPC agreement within the next 18 months.

7. “There are a number of companies that we entered into a dialogue with a year ago that weren’t ready to go public. There are family businesses where the family was not ready. A year is a long time and family owners get older, they make different estate planning decisions. I think we’ll find something interesting to do. – suggesting that potential increases in capital gains and inheritance taxes could push business owners to sell to PSTH.

8. “Think of the delta variant as an injection of the virus, kind of like a vaccine for anyone who doesn’t get a vaccine. It’s incredibly contagious. It really increases the chances that we will get herd immunity much faster. “

9. “You take antibiotics for other types of infections, you take other drugs, why don’t you have a vaccine? “- noting that the side effects of the vaccine are less dangerous than the virus.

10. “People have ended – I am – being in a cave, hiding from the rest of the world. They want to go out, they are going to have fun, they are going to a restaurant. You are going to witness a massive economic boom. We are going to have an extremely strong economy in the fall. We could see a really, really strong 2022. “

11. “There is very, very significant inflation. You see house prices skyrocket – you have to have a friend who knows the CEO to buy a house. There is real wage inflation which is not at all transitory. Trying to get people to come to work in a hotel, to work in a restaurant is now more difficult because of certain stimulus measures. You’re going to have to pay people to come to work.

12. “You’ve had $ 5,000 billion in stimulus, you’ve got a raise, you’ve got a lot of savings, you’ve got a lot of stimulus getting vaccinated around the same time. All of these things lead to massive economic growth and demand and we still have an extremely accommodating Federal Reserve. Short-term interest rates are going to have to rise a lot faster than you think. We will see significantly higher returns.