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INDYchannel.com – Facebook remains on the lookout for acquisitions after its failed attempt to buy microblogging site Twitter, one of the company’s directors and largest investors says. "We’re still focusing on growing as much as possible," says Peter Thiel in an interview with BusinessWeek.
In Facebook’s first public confirmation of the talks, Thiel said the parties disagreed over price and structure when they seriously considered a deal last fall. "It became pretty clear it wasn’t going to happen," Thiel says from the mid-Manhattan office of his hedge fund Clarium Capital. "The deal would have to be done with Facebook stock. And then you have to figure out how much the stock is worth."
Bloomberg – 21st Century Asset Management Co., run by former Nomura Asset Management Co. executive Takanori Shimizu, said it may seek growth through takeovers after the worst year on record for hedge funds.
Shimizu, 63, said he will also cut costs as the Tokyo-based firm strives to boost assets under management to 40 billion yen ($440 million) by the end of March 2010, from 14 billion yen as at Dec. 31, 2008.
“We are carefully considering possible cost cuts just like any other firm,” Shimizu said in an interview yesterday. “Acquiring another asset management firm to boost our assets may be a good strategy and we’re always on the lookout.”
The global credit crisis forced as many as 920 hedge funds out of business last year while the tally of job losses at financial firms worldwide reached 269,000. Last week, Rheos Capital Works Inc., a Tokyo-based hedge fund, said it would sell a majority stake to IS Holdings Inc. to weather the slowdown.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Deephaven Capital Management signed a deal on Tuesday to sell the assets of its flagship hedge fund, Knight Capital Group Inc., to Stark Investments.
The founders, Brian Stark and Mike Roth, will give Deephaven investors the option to become investors in Stark Funds by contributing their share of their Deephaven Fund portfolio positions, they said in a letter to shareholders. Deephaven in October suspended withdrawals from its $1.6 billion Deephaven Global Multi-Strategy funds after being overwhelmed by investor redemption requests.
"We believe this agreement is advantageous for Stark’s and Deephaven’s investors, and we are excited about the prospect of retaining their high quality investor base," Mike Roth said, "In strategically managing the business, we have put ourselves in a position to capitalize upon these types of situations. We will continue to be on the lookout for additional opportunities that complement our strategic plan and strengthen our organization."
Stark has headquarters in Milwaukee, Miami, London and Hong Kong.
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