Ackman's Pershing Square takes new position in Netflix

BOSTON (Reuters) - Billionaire investor William Ackman has built a new stake in streaming service Netflix Inc worth more than $1 billion.

Ackman told investors that his hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management, started buying on Friday and now owns more than 3.1 million shares in Netflix, making Pershing Square a top 20 shareholder.

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

In the letter to investors Ackman praised the company's "best-in-class management team" and on Twitter the manager said he has long admired Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and the "remarkable company he and his team have built."

Netflix shares climbed as much as 5% in after-hours trading after they had tumbled more than 30% in the last five days as the market gyrated amid fears of rising interest rates and geopolitical turmoil.

Ackman said he and his team began analyzing Netflix when the firm made its investment in Universal Music Group.

"So we were prepared when the stock price declined sharply last Friday," Ackman wrote, adding, "Now with both UMG and Netflix, we are all-in on streaming as we love the business models, the industry contexts, and the management teams leading these remarkable organizations."