CNNMoney.com – Activist investor William Ackman, who heads Pershing Square Capital Management, said on Thursday the fund has bought more than 11 percent of book retailer Borders Group Inc.’s shares.<\/p>\n
Borders<\/a> (up $2.11 to $23.65, Charts<\/a>) stock rose nearly 12 percent in early trading.<\/p>\n The shares could be worth more than $36 apiece, more than 50 percent above than their current value, in the next 18 months, Ackman said.<\/p>\n “The stock is cheap in our opinion,” Ackman told investors at a New York conference. He also noted that the company’s share repurchases have been “aggressive.”<\/p>\n Ackman, who also owns shares of Borders’ larger rival, Barnes & Noble Inc<\/a> (down $0.14 to $42.04, Charts<\/a>)., said that there are rumors of leveraged buyouts of both booksellers “for good reason.”<\/p>\n A spokeswoman for Borders could not immediately comment.<\/p>\n