McGraw Hill Financial, Inc.
Thesis
Ackman considered McGraw-Hill due to its valuable assets like the S&P franchise but ultimately decided against investing due to concerns over potential liabilities associated with the bond rating business and the risks of litigation.
Did it work?
inconclusive
confidence: low
This is not an actionable directional thesis: it describes Ackman evaluating McGraw-Hill and ultimately passing due to litigation and liability concerns in the bond rating business, with no stated long/short direction, target, or horizon. No price performance data is available, so there is no way to judge whether avoiding the stock was the right call. While litigation risk was the stated concern, without a directional thesis or return data the outcome cannot be evaluated.