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JP Morgan Chase & Co and Citadel Investment Group resumed trading with each other on Friday, one day after the bank had cut off the hedge fund over a hiring dispute, a person familiar with the matter said.
"The dispute has been resolved," a person familiar with the hedge fund said on Friday.
Citadel’s officials could not be reached for comment at the office.
Citadel, one of the world’s largest hedge fund firms with roughly $20 billion in assets, clashed with JP Morgan because it had hired a string of executives from America’s second largest bank this year, people familiar with the matter said.
They said JP Morgan told employees to stop trading stocks, bonds and currencies with Citadel on Thursday morning, essentially prohibiting anyone from buying or selling with the hedge fund.
By Friday, the differences had been resolved and business was back to normal, the person said.
Reuters – Hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners said it is not pulling out of high-profile investments like The New York Times Co. and Media General Inc., seeking to quell market rumors after their share prices dropped sharply on Monday.
Philip Falcone, who runs the hedge fund, told Reuters that investors would be mistaken if they thought selling by Harbinger was behind the double-digit percentage declines in stocks it holds, including the Times, Media General Inc., Cablevision Systems Corp, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and Calpine Corp.
"People are speculating as to what we’re doing and why we’re doing it, but the reality is different from what they think," Falcone, Harbinger’s senior managing director, said in a phone interview.
He said that while their main fund’s composition has changed since its most recent 13 F regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on August 13, Harbinger remained bullish on its investments.
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Harbinger Capital Partners is no stranger to aggressively seeking strategic changes within companies in which they invest. This month, it’s Harbinger vs. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. The mining company is urging shareholders to reject a bid by the activist hedge fund that would give them veto power over one of Cleveland-Cliffs proposed acquisitions.
Harbinger is the company’s largest shareholder with a 15.5 percent stake. The hedge fund is protesting the potential acquisition of Alpha Natural Resources in what would be a $8.1 billion deal. Harbinger believes it is not in the best interest of the shareholders. Meanwhile, the hedge fund is trying to increase its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs to as much as one-third.
Harbinger has made headlines recently for similar antics involving their other investments, including the New York Times and Media General. Harbinger was awarded two seats on the board of the Times, while acquiring three seats on Media General’s board.
In order for the deal to take place, 66 percent of shareholders must approve the bid for Alpha. The vote which will decide Harbinger’s control share acquisition will take place on October 3.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
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Reuters – Hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners said on Thursday it is seeking approval from Cleveland Cliff’s shareholders to boost its ownership stake to as much as a third of the iron-ore company.
Harbinger — already Cleveland-Cliffs’ largest shareholder — opposes Cleveland Cliffs’ proposed takeover of Alpha Natural Resources, saying it believes the Alpha deal is not in the best interest of shareholders.
The fund said in a regulatory filing that it has asked Cliffs for a shareholder vote that would allow Harbinger to acquire shares that would bring its ownership up to more than one-fifth, but less than one-third, of Cliffs’ outstanding shares.
Seeking Alpha- In a 13G filing after the close Friday on Sunoco, Inc. (SUN), Philip Falcone’s Harbinger Capital disclosed a 6.6% stake (7,732,600 shares) in the company. The hedge fund did not show a stake in Sunoco at the quarter ended 03/31/08.
A 13G indicates a ‘passive investment’, but Harbinger is a known activist investor. Most recently, Harbinger called on Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) to cancel its merger with Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (ANR), saying it was not in the best interest of shareholders.