Each business day HedgeCo.Net keeps you informed with the top hedge fund industry news, opinion and insight from around the globe. From the latest hedge fund launches, to the impact of regulation, competition, and investor activism - we track the topics and people that make a difference to you.
Globe and Mail – When Salida Capital Corp. beat all other bidders in a charity auction last month to score lunch with Warren Buffett, the $1.68-million (U.S.) win sent a signal to Bay Street: Salida is back.
Salida, the once high-flying, resource-focused hedge fund manager known for its appetite for risk, became one of Canada’s high-profile victims of last year’s market meltdown when its flagship Multi Strategy Fund plunged 67 per cent and three of its hedge funds got locked up in the Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. bankruptcy.
That was followed by a rapid exodus of key staffers and by dwindling assets under management.
Financial Post – Barclays PLC, the U.K.’s third-largest bank, is in talks with BlackRock Inc. and other bidders to sell its asset management division for more than US$10-billion.
BlackRock, the world’s biggest publicly traded asset manager, is the leading contender to buy Barclays Global Investors, people familiar with the situation said June 6. London-based Barclays has also held talks about selling BGI to Bank of New York Mellon Corp, the people added. The bank is seeking more than US$12-billion for the unit, and may keep a 20% stake in the merged company, one of the people said.
Retaining a stake "is an intelligent way to structure the deal," said Danny Clarke, a Liverpool-based analyst at Capital Group PLC, who has a "hold" rating on Barclays. "It strikes a balance between short and long-term goals, boosting capital and retaining some earnings."
Reuters – A consortium of private equity and hedge fund firms, including J.C. Flowers & Co, is close to a deal to buy the assets of failed mortgage lender IndyMac, a source familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
The prospective buyers also include Dune Capital Management, a private investment firm run by former Goldman Sachs executives, and hedge fund Paulson & Co, the source said.
The consortium would buy the bank and its 33 branches, IndyMac’s reverse-mortgage unit and a $176 billion loan-servicing portfolio, the source said.
The presence of private equity and hedge fund firms comes after the FDIC said last month it was expanding the pool of qualified bidders to include those institutions that do not currently have a bank charter, although they must have conditional approval for a charter from the responsible agency.
