Target, the US discount retailer, said on Friday it had rejected a plan from Bill Ackman, the activist shareholder, that proposes spinning off its real estate assets into a separate $25bn real estate investment trust (Reit).

Target said the the proposals had been reviewed by its management and board, who had decided that Mr Ackman’s estimate of the potential value of the plan “is highly speculative and insufficient to merit pursuit of a transaction” given the potential risks and costs.