Bill Ackman has taken a stake worth about US$1 billion in retailer Lowe’s Cos. and is supportive of the company’s incoming Chief Executive Officer Marvin Ellison.

Ackman disclosed the stake at a mergers and acquisitions conference in New York Wednesday hosted by the law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP, according to a person who was in attendance.

Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management joins D.E. Shaw & Co. as an investor in the home-improvement retailer. Lowe’s is the previously undisclosed company that Ackman mentioned last week during a conference call, in which he also said he supported the breakup of United Technologies Corp., said the person, who asked not to be identified because the conference was closed to the media.

A spokeswoman for Lowe’s said the company is aware of the reports of Pershing Square’s investment and remains committed to creating value for all shareholders. Ackman’s Lowe’s stake was reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal.

Lowe’s said in January it would appoint three new directors to its board after D.E. Shaw took an active stake in the company. Since then the company’s Chairman and CEO Robert Niblock, a 25-year Lowe’s veteran, said he also planned to retire.

On Tuesday, Lowe’s named J.C. Penney Co.’s Ellison as it new CEO.

--With assistance from Matt Townsend