Bill Ackman Added To J.C. Penney's Board (JCP)

Legendary investor Bill Ackman has joined the J.C. Penney JCP board along with Vornado Realty CEO VNO Steven Roth. Ackman spoke about what he would like to do with the 108-year old retailer at the Harbor Investment Conference last week, saying he sees vast potential for the company. He said out of all the companies in his portfolio, J.C. Penney has the most upside. Ackman has talked about J.C. Penney in the past, saying he wants to improve the company's operations, despite the company owning most of its real estate and causing losses for the company. Some have speculated that if the company were to spin the real estate into a REIT, it would be a much better use of its assets and could create tremendous shareholder value. This is a different approach to what Ackman took with Target TGT, as he wanted the company to spin off its land into a REIT, and wasn't really interested in changing the company's operations. At last check, shares of J.C. Penney were up 72 cents to $35.75, a gain of 2.06%.