BusinessWeek – The market for exotic securities hasn’t entirely gone away. It’s just gone underground—-six feet under, to be precise.

Hedge fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management is plunging into life settlements—a market in which speculators buy-up unwanted life insurance policies from wealthy individuals looking to score some quick cash. The $10 billion New York-based fund is planning on selling so-called “death bonds” to overseas investors, as part of a plan to potentially raise cash to finance its life settlements acquisition business.

Read Complete Article

Tags: acquisition, bonds, businessweek, davidson-kempner-capital, davidson-kempner-capital-management, insurance, life insurance policies, life settlements, overseas investors, six feet, speculators, wealthy individuals

New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Hedge Fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management has declared a proxy victory after replacing all but one of the board members of the Sun-Times Media Group.

Davidson Kempner, who owns a 6% share in the parent company of the Chicago Sun-Times, expressed its discontent with the current board, blaming them for the financial woes of the company. 

Hedge funds are no strangers to shaking up boards of companies in which they invest, many times in order to gain a strategic position where they can be involved in management and the decision making process in hopes of garnering higher returns for shareholders.

"Through the provision of these consents, the stockholders have made clear their desire and support for a board of directors that is made up of professionals experienced in publishing and restructuring," said Davidson Kempner. "Given the operating and financial challenges before Sun-Times, we believe that the reconstituted board has the better potential to guide and lead Sun-Times."

The new slate includes Jeremy Halbreich, former General Manager for the Dallas Morning News and executives Michael Katzenstein and Robert Schmitz.   Robert Poole, who holds an 11% stake in the company, will remain on the board.  The hedge fund has also vocalized their desire to dump current CEO Cyrus Freidheim.

Julie Scuderi
Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net
Email: julie@hedgeco.net

HedgeCo.Net is a premier hedge fund database and community for qualified and accredited investors only. Membership on www.hedgeco.net is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds!
Be sure to check out our sister sites. www.hedgefundlounge.com, www.hedgefundtools.com, and www.hedgefundemployment.com

Tags: accredited-investors, chicago-sun-times, consents, current-board, cyrus freidheim, dallas morning news, davidson-kempner-capital, davidson-kempner-capital-management, discontent, financial challenges, financial woes, hedgeco, katzenstein, reconstituted board, robert poole, robert schmitz, sister-sites, stockholders

TheChronicleHerald.ca- Two U.S. private equity firms are offering about $7.8 billion — or $39 a share in cash — for Alberta-based utility TransAlta Corp., which had been under pressure by a major investor to boost its stock price.

LS Power Equity Partners and Global Infrastructure Partners presented TransAlta with a "non-binding approach" on Monday.

TransAlta said its board will "carefully consider the letter and will respond in due course."

LS Power Equity Partners is linked to Luminus Management LLC, the New York-based hedge fund that fought earlier this year to persuade TransAlta to shed assets and to load up on debt as a means to buy back shares.

LS Power president James Bartlett said in a telephone interview that the suitors are seeking a "consensual, negotiated transaction."

Read Complete Article

Tags: cnet, davidson-kempner-capital, first-avenue, hotel-address, infrastructure-partners, jet-plane, losses, luxembourg, management-operations, management-platform