Billionaire investor Bill Ackman has built a $2.6-billion stake in asset management giant Brookfield Corp. (BN.TO) that is now the second-largest position held by his hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, The Globe and Mail is reporting Friday.

It noted the fund started buying stock in Brookfield Corp. -- the parent company of Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. BAM.TO, which manages more than US$1-trillion of assets -- in April this year. By the end of June, Pershing had acquired 6.8 million shares, and its stake then ballooned to 32.7 million shares -- or nearly 2.2% of the company -- as of Sept. 30, according to public filings.

Friday's report said the new investment for Pershing Square is a bet on Brookfield as a major owner and operator of assets that can be considered critical infrastructure -- what Brookfield CEO Bruce Flatt likes to call "the backbone of the global economy," which includes data centres powering artificial intelligence, renewable energy sources as well as the global shipping industry that underpins supply chains.

It noted the Brookfield stake accounts for 10.6% of Pershing Square's holdings, and is now larger than its investments in household names such as hotel owner Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., fast food chain Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Tim Hortons owner Restaurant Brands International Inc. and Google parent Alphabet Inc.

A Brookfield spokesperson declined to comment.

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