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.
Guardian.co.uk – Big gains on derivative bets linked to Volkswagen shares offset a decline in nine-month earnings at Porsche SE’s core sports car business, the heavily indebted holding company said on Friday.
Porsche, scrambling to shore up its tattered balance sheet, blamed lower volumes and revenue as well as investments on its upcoming fourth model line and hybrid powertrain technology but insisted that its returns remained relatively healthy.
"A high earnings margin was still achieved," the company said in a statement, while a company spokesman added that it was "nearly in the double-digits".
That is still a drop from Porsche’s traditional margins of near 20 percent when markets were strong.
Reuters – Warren Lichtenstein’s Steel Partners LLC is forging ahead with a controversial plan to convert its flagship hedge fund, Steel Partners II, into a publicly traded holding company in the face of opposition from shareholders calling for liquidation.
The New York-based firm told limited partners, in a shareholder letter dated Tuesday, that they have until June 5 to either approve its plan to convert the fund into shares in a listed company, Steel Partners Holdings, or elect to receive a share of the fund’s assets. Both options will also distribute some cash.
Reuters – Warren Lichtenstein’s Steel Partners LLC is forging ahead with a controversial plan to convert its flagship hedge fund, Steel Partners II, into a publicly traded holding company in the face of opposition from shareholders calling for liquidation.
The New York-based firm told limited partners, in a shareholder letter dated Tuesday, that they have until June 5 to either approve its plan to convert the fund into shares in a listed company, Steel Partners Holdings, or elect to receive a share of the fund’s assets. Both options will also distribute some cash.
"For myself and many of our investors, the option provided by Steel Partners Holdings is too compelling to ignore," Lichtenstein said in his investor letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
The Herald – Toscafund, the hedge fund that was a catalyst for the sale of ABN Amro, made £158m profit in 2007 when Royal Bank of Scotland led the disastrous £49bn acquisition of the Dutch bank.
The investment firm, whose holding company is chaired by former Royal Bank chief Sir George Mathewson, enjoyed a spectacular increase in earnings which appears to have been helped by a surge in the value of ABN Amro.
The revelation of Toscafund’s success may stoke fresh controversy about hedge funds. These have been accused of causing massive problems for the UK’s banks with investment policies focused on making short-term gains.
Saudi Gazette – A seven-member investor group including billionaire George Soros and Dell Inc. founder Michael Dell have agreed to purchase failed lender IndyMac Bank, one of the largest casualties of the housing bust, for $13.9 billion.
IndyMac, which specialized in loans made with little down payment or proof of assets, was seized by the government in July after a run on the bank as the US housing market collapsed.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Friday that a holding company led by Steven Mnuchin, co-chief executive of private equity firm Dune Capital Management, agreed to buy IndyMac in a deal reached Wednesday.
The investors have formed a partnership, called IMB Management Holdings LP, that includes Dell’s investment firm, MSD Capital.
Post Chronicle – The New York Times Co is trying to sell its stake in the holding company of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the discussions.
The sale, which could give the Times desperately needed cash as newspaper advertising revenue falls and its debt payments loom, could involve its 17.5 percent stake in New England Sports Ventures and possibly the struggling Boston Globe daily newspaper, the Journal reported.
New England Sports Ventures owns the Red Sox, the Fenway Park baseball field where the team plays, and most of the cable network that shows their games.
