Pershing Square Capital CEO Bill Ackman speaks during the Wall Street Journal Digital Conference in Laguna Beach, California, U.S., October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake

April 20 (Reuters) – William Ackman’s hedge fund Pershing Square Holdings Ltd said on Wednesday it had exited its investment in Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) as the streaming service’s share price plunged and that the billionaire investor was absorbing more than $400 million in losses on the bet. .

Shares fell 35% on Wednesday to close at $226.19, just 24 hours after the company announced it had lost subscribers for the first time in a decade.

Ackman, who had become the company’s biggest backer when he said he bought 3.1 million shares in January, reacted quickly and boldly by selling everything.

“While Netflix’s business is fundamentally simple to understand, in light of recent events, we have lost confidence in our ability to predict the company’s future prospects with a sufficient degree of certainty,” said its director. hedge fund in a statement.

Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss with additional reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Bernard Orr

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