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Barron - In the 1980s, Carl Icahn loomed large as a corporate raider, in the mold of the Gordon Gekko character in the movie Wall Street. Icahn made a lot of money but was vilified for what some considered a slash-and-burn approach to taking over companies.
Twenty years later, Icahn has morphed into a shareholder activist and rails against what he considers to be incompetence among senior executives and on boards. "They call me raider. They call me an activist," says Icahn, who, at 72, shows no sign of slowing down. "I don’t know what those labels mean. All I know is that something should be done to improve corporate governance and management. If we don’t, managements will remain unaccountable and our economy will suffer."
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - Elliott Associates, a New York hedge fund firm, has bought a 9.9% stake in Epicor Software Corp. and is inquiring about possible strategic alternatives for the company, Markets Media Online reports.
In a filing made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Elliott now owns nearly 6 million shares of Epicor, just shy of 10% of the company. The firm has been steadily buying up shares since June but made particularly large acquisitions during the last month. It has also acquired more than $18 million worth of convertible bonds for Epicor over the past week.
Breeden Capital Management, another hedge fund firm, also disclosed a 5.25% stake in medical equipment maker Hill-Rom. Former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Richard Breeden founded Breeden Capital, which uses an activist strategy to profit from companies that improve corporate governance. The firm’s top holdings include H&R Block, medical equipment sterilization company Steris and diamond retailer Zales.
Elliott also said it has made inquiries as to whether Epicor has considered exploring strategic alternatives. Such language is often a harbinger for an investor pushing for the sale of a company. Elliott earlier this year put pressure on MSC Software to put itself up for sale.
Elliott Associates is known for its activism. In the recent past, it has launched a hostile takeover bid for IT company Packateer, pressed retailer Pier 1 to cut costs and helped Metrologic Instruments founder C. Harry Knowles take his company private. Metrologic has since been taken over by manufacturing giant Honeywell.
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Todays Zaman- Licensed just a few months ago, Turkey’s first hedge funds will likely embark on operations by mid-September, Corporate Governance Association of Turkey (TKYD) President Gür Çağdaş has said.
Speaking to Reuters yesterday, Çağdaş said with the funds, an important and attractive financial instrument would be available to domestic and foreign investors.
The government opened the door in March 2008 for the establishment of hedge funds in Turkey and since then, Garanti Bankası, İş Yatırım and Oyak Securities have acquired the necessary licenses for creating and running such funds. Yapı Kredi also applied for permission to run a hedge fund but is still awaiting approval of its application.
MSN MoneyCentral- A British hedge fund said Monday it will accept the Japanese government’s rejection of its proposal to raise its stake in a major utility — although it added that it still doesn’t agree with the reasoning behind the order.
The Children’s Investment Master Fund had proposed raising its stake in J-Power — Japan’s largest electricity wholesaler — to as much as 20 percent from 9.9 percent. The government rejected that proposal earlier this year, citing potential disruptions to public order.
The fund has contested the decision as lacking transparency and including incorrect information and false premises.
But it said the government was unlikely to change its mind. The fund will now instead focus on improving corporate governance at J-Power, it said in a statement.
Houston Business Journal - A noisy, contentious proxy battle ended quietly Wednesday when shareholders of Vaalco Energy Inc. voted in the company’s chosen slate of board directors.
Houston-based Vaalco (NYSE:EGY) had spent the past three months fending off an attack from a New York hedge fund that was formed in January and built up a substantial position of shares — 4.7 million — on the open market before disclosing its position in March.
Nanes Delorme Partners I LP had proposed its own slate of three directors for election at the meeting and demanded big changes at the exporation and production company, which has most of its holdings in West Africa.
Vaalco had filed a lawsuit against the hedge fund as part of its response to the coup attempt but has dropped the proceedings as part of an agreement cobbled together late in the evening of May 23 to end the dispute. Nanes Delormes in turn agreed to vote in favor of Vaalco’s director nominees.
Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis & Co. weighed in a day earlier, recommending that shareholders withhold support for Vaalco board nominees W. Russell Scheirman, president and chief financial officer, and Arne Nielsen. The proxy firm said it agreed with many of the corporate governance and stock performance issues raised by Nanes Delormes.