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.
Reuters – Electricite de France SA is close to an agreement to buy half the nuclear power business of Constellation Energy Group Inc (CEG.N) for $4.5 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the situation.
Approval by Constellation‘s board, subject to some conditions, may be announced as early as this week, Bloomberg said quoting a source who remained anonymous because the talks are private.
In September, Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s (BRKa.N) (BRKb.N) unit MidAmerican Energy Holdings agreed to pay $4.7 billion, or $26.50 a share, for U.S. power company Constellation, which was on the brink of bankruptcy.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Due to their recent share decrease, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. has agreed to sell majority interest to asset manager Neuberger Berman. The transaction will create a new, independent investment management company to be called Neuberger Investment Management, managing approximately $160 billion of assets as of 30 November 2008.
Lehman Brothers Private Equity Partners Limited (LBPE) and certain of its affiliates will be a part of this transaction. The sale is subject to final Bankruptcy Court approval, and closing is expected in the first quarter of 2009.
LBPE’s Board of Directors believes this transaction will significantly benefit the Company by providing the management team of the Investment Manager a strong platform from which to continue managing LBPE’s high quality private equity portfolio and support the long term success of the Company.
LBPE will also host a conference call later this week for investors and analysts to discuss the Investment Manager update and the Company’s performance. An updated investor presentation will be published on the Company’s Web site prior to the conference call on 12 December 2008.
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New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Board members of General Motors met this past weekend to go over a proposal that will be presented to Congress today in hopes of securing up to $12 billion in emergency funding. The money is part of a larger, $25 billion bailout plan that GM, Ford and Chrysler have been seeking.
After originally rejecting the plan, Congress told the big three auto makers to present a revised version of their request, with detailed information on how they will use the money to turn their companies around.
Chrysler, who has vocalized their need for an alliance with GM and Ford in order to weather the financial crisis, is also busy putting the finishing touches on their revised plan. “Chrysler is fine-tuning its original plan to meet the reset requite from congressional leadership,” said spokesperson for the company, Lori McTavish. “The company’s board will be part of the final review process leading up to Tuesday’s submission.”
The automakers are expected to present a plan that focuses more on fuel-saving new technology that could eventually yield 35 miles per gallon on their vehicles, in addition to slashing executive pay and bonuses. Ford, who is least troubled by financial woes out of the three, is expected to only seek a line of credit from the government.
The automakers have faced increased reluctance from many members of Congress, after months of government handouts to major financial institutionals. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recently sent a letter to the three executives, saying that they must be "making significant sacrifices and major changes to their way of doing business," which will be presented in today’s plan.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
eBrandz – In a move expected to fuel speculation over Yahoo Inc.’s search for a new chief executive — Corporate raider and billionaire investor Carl Icahn augmented his stake in Yahoo, has bought up close to 7 million additional shares of the Internet Company over three days this week, paying around $67 million, according to regulatory filings.
Icahn, a billionaire hedge-fund manager who now holds a seat on Yahoo’s board, acquired 6.77 million additional shares of Yahoo stock during November 24-26 for 67 million dollars, now owns 75.6 million of the company’s shares, or a 5.4 percent stake valued at around $870 million based on Yahoo’s closing share price on Friday, according to the documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and dated Wednesday.
The company’s stock moved up 93 cents, or nearly 9%, to $11.51 in the shortened trading session after Icahn, a Yahoo board member who has been pushing a strategy shift or a sale to Microsoft Corp., said he had bought about 6.8 million shares.
Reuters – Citigroup Inc lost more than one-quarter of its market value on growing worries over whether it has enough capital to withstand billions of dollars of potential losses and despite new support from its largest individual investor.
The second-largest U.S. bank by assets is looking at options now, including a sale of parts of the company or a merger with another firm, after its stock fell 50 percent this week, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Discussions so far have been internal, and some options –such as entering into a merger where other executives end up running the company — are unpalatable to managers at Citigroup, the person said. The bank’s board of directors is set to meet on Friday, and Morgan Stanley is not
CNNMoney.com – New York hedge fund Elliott Associates LP lowered its offer price Tuesday for Epicor Software Corp., saying in a letter it was "extremely disappointed" Epicor’s board had recommended shareholders reject a takeover.
Elliott, a large shareholder in the Irvine, Calif., software company, told Epicor’s board that it will now offer $7.50 per share, which would value the company at $446.8 million based on the number of shares outstanding at Aug. 1. That’s down from Elliott’s previous offer of $9.50 per share, which valued Epicor at $565.9 million.
Elliott already owns 10.2 percent of the company’s shares.
CNNMoney.com – A shareholder has sued CSX Corp. (CSX) and two hedge funds over sales of CSX shares before the funds publicly disclosed plans to shake up the railroad operator’s board in a proxy fight earlier this year.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Tuesday, is seeking recovery of so-called "short-swing" profits related to sales by The Children’s Investment Fund Management LLP, or TCI; 3G Capital Partners LP and their principals between August and September 2007 on behalf of the company and its shareholders. CSX is a nominal defendant in the case.
The complaint alleges the funds or their principals purchased large numbers of shares and derivatives equivalent to CSX shares within six months of their prior share sales and at lower prices.
Reuters – Endologix Inc said it received an unsolicited takeover bid from hedge fund Elliott Associates LP for $2.25 a share, 18 percent higher than the stock’s Wednesday closing price.
The company, which develops and manufactures minimally invasive treatments for vascular diseases, said it will review the unsolicited proposal and make a determination and respond in due course.
Endologix asked its stockholders to defer judgment on the unsolicited proposal until that determination has been made.
Also on Wednesday, New York-based Elliott took its $529 million cash offer for Epicor Software Corp directly to shareholders, two days after it was snubbed by the business software maker’s board. [nBNG397251]
Reuters – Hedge Fund Elliott Associates LP on Wednesday took its $529 million cash offer for Epicor Software Corp directly to shareholders, two days after it was snubbed by the business software maker’s board.
Elliott said it, through a unit, is offering $9.50 per share through the tender offer, about 40 percent premium to the stock’s closing price Tuesday, and a 20 percent premium at the time of its October 1 offer to the company.
"We would not be surprised to see shareholders accept Elliott’s offer," analyst Peter Goldmacher of Cowen & Co said by phone, adding that he does not expect a rival bid to surface.
Epicor shares shot up as much as 14 percent in morning trade but pared some of their gains and were trading up 29 cents at $7.09 in midday trade on Nasdaq.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Hedge fund manager Rosseau Asset Management Ltd. and certain related parties have filed a dissident’s proxy circular (the "Dissident’s Circular") to Noront Resources Ltd., in which the hedge fund group controls over approximately 9.2% of common shares.
Rosseau asks Noront’s shareholders to vote against the re-election of the Company’s current Board of Directors and instead vote to elect a new slate of directors at the upcoming annual meeting of shareholders scheduled to be held on October 28, 2008.
During recent meetings between Rosseau and Noront’s management, the hedge fund manager indicated it wanted significant changes to Noront’s Board of Directors and some senior management.
Rosseau rejected Noront’s compromise proposal and has commenced its proxy fight with the filing of the Dissident’s Circular, saying, "Rosseau’s action is not in the best interest of shareholders. It is an opportunistic attempt, in light of extraordinary recent market conditions……Norent will respond (to the circular) shortly."
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Florida Times Union – CSX Corp.’s proxy fight with two hedge funds apparently ended Monday, after an appellate court turned down CSX’s attempt to block some of the funds’ votes for the company’s board of directors.
CSX, which had already seated two representatives of The Children’s Investment Fund Management LLP and 3G Capital Partners Ltd. on its board, said Monday it will now add two additional TCI and 3G nominees.
All four TCI-3G nominees won election to CSX’s 12-member board of directors at the company’s shareholders meeting in June. But after the votes were counted, CSX said it would only seat two of them until its court case was resolved.
On Monday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled against CSX, upholding a June decision by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan. CSX had filed a lawsuit saying that TCI and 3G violated federal disclosure laws about their stock ownership in CSX. Kaplan agreed that the funds violated those laws, but said that did not give him the authority to block their proxy votes.
Wall Street Journal – Hedge fund Elliott Associates LP made public a letter to Republic Services Inc. in which it said the company’s board wasn’t doing its duty by fully considering the raised $6.73 billion takeover bid from Waste Management Inc.
The fund, which said it is a "meaningful" shareholder in the company, asserted the Waste Management bid was more favorable to shareholders than Republic’s proposed acquisition of Allied Waste Industries Inc., initially valued at $6.24 billion in stock.
The size of Elliott’s stake couldn’t be determined, and an official wasn’t available for comment.
The hedge fund urged Republic’s board, in a letter dated Aug. 28 and released Friday, to "vigorously negotiate the best possible deal from Waste Management," maintaining the Waste Management proposal of $37 a share "can reasonably be expected to lead to an offer that is superior to Republic’s no-premium merger with Allied."
