By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
BOSTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Investors who put money with William Ackman's hedge fund that bets exclusively on retailer Target Corp will be allowed to pull out of the ailing Pershing Square IV fund and can expect to be paid in cash.
"We expect to be able to redeem any and all investors who choose to exit in March, in full and in cash," Ackman wrote to investors of Pershing Square IV on Sunday, three days after he first told them that the fund had lost 40 percent in January. Nearly all of the starting capital has been wiped out.
Ackman, who agonized over having lost 12 percent in his flagship fund last year when most hedge fund managers nursed far bigger declines, began the latest letter with an apology.
"I am deeply disappointed by PSIV's dreadful performance and I apologize profusely for the fund's results to date," Ackman, wrote, calling this "one of the greatest disappointments of my career to date."
Both Ackman's apology and his offer to let investors leave are unusual in the $1.4 trillion hedge fund industry where hundreds of funds have been forced to liquidate after clients pulled out a record $155 billion last year.
While many managers blamed their heavy losses on unprecedented market conditions, few said they were sorry.
Also, many managers dealt with losses by suspending redemption requests and telling clients that they could not get their money back yet.
Ackman, who tends to make only a few big bets in any of of his portfolios, made his concentrated bet on Target in 2007 when he raised $2 billion for PSIV with roughly $1.3 billion coming from other hedge funds.
Many PSIV investors also have money with Ackman's other funds and to appease them, Ackman said he will waive incentive fees on the main Pershing Square capital accounts until the investors have recouped their PSIV losses.
Ackman, who cemented his reputation as a successful activist investor by prompting change at McDonald's and Wendy's, said he is holding out hope that Target may still agree to a real estate transaction the company had publicly dismissed last year.
Under the proposal, Target would form a trust to own the land under its stores and then spin off a portion of that trust in an initial public offering to boost its share price.
"While we cannot provide assurance as to any outcome, we are cautiously optimistic that we will be similarly successful at Target," Ackman wrote.
But he also said the real estate transaction isn't the key to success at PSIV. "We do not believe that a Target real estate transaction is necessary in order for an investor to earn an attractive return from current values through an investment in PSIV."
Ackman said he has spoken with many investors over the last days and that some may follow his lead and put in more money after he committed $25 million of his own fortune. "If we receive more new commitments than withdrawals we will likely add to our Target position to minimize the potential for dilution," Ackman said. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; editing by Richard Chang)