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The Guardian – Value of assets held by the world’s sovereign wealth funds fell to $3 trillion this year from $3.6 trillion at end-2007 as the credit crisis nearly halved their equity portfolio, according to Deutsche Bank.
The German bank’s report on state-owned investment funds also highlighted their positive long-term prospects, with their total assets under management likely to more than double to $7 trillion in the next 10 years.
Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), which have replaced hedge funds and private equity as major movers of corporate mergers and acquisitions, have taken a dent in their wealth after pouring $80 billion into major banks just before the credit crisis escalated into major market turmoil.
Bloomberg – Justin Klintberg, a former manager at Marble Bar Asset Management LLP, has started his own Asia- focused hedge fund to trade stocks affected by events such as rights issues, spinoffs, mergers and acquisitions.
Kima Capital Management Pty, named after the Greek word for wave, began investment July 3 and has the capacity to manage $250 million in the Pan Asian Long/Short Equity Fund, Klintberg, its 36-year-old chief investment officer, said in an interview from Melbourne yesterday.
Bloomberg – Justin Klintberg, a former manager at Marble Bar Asset Management LLP, has started his own Asia- focused hedge fund to trade stocks affected by events such as rights issues, spinoffs, mergers and acquisitions.
Kima Capital Management Pty, named after the Greek word for wave, began investment July 3 and has the capacity to manage $250 million in the Pan Asian Long/Short Equity Fund, Klintberg, its 36-year-old chief investment officer, said in an interview from Melbourne yesterday.
Reuters – Hedge fund and traditional money management firms hard hit by last year’s market meltdown are poised for a surge of mergers and acquisitions to bolster depleted assets and widen sources of revenue.
"We’re going to see a massive wave of consolidation across the entire asset management industry, over the next 12 to 24 months," Brian Reilly, Barclays Capital’s head of asset management investment banking, told a gathering of hedge fund executives at the SkyBridge Alternatives Conference.
American Chronicle – An investment professional from Greenwich with more than 20 years of experience is going out on his own by starting a Stamford-based advisory firm for small- to medium-size companies from here to
Texas.
Peter Schweinfurth, a former senior executive at Avenue Capital, a hedge fund based in New York City and London, recently launched Gulf + Eastern to offer restructuring, turnaround and mergers-and-acquisitions advice for small but growing family-owned firms focused on consumer products and the service sector.
The China Post – Asia-Pacific banks, brokerages, insurers and private equity firms are more optimistic about mergers and acquisitions as they seek to expand following a decline in asset prices, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
About 42 percent of financial institutions in the region expect to make an acquisition over the next year, compared with 38 percent a year earlier, according to a PwC survey of 215 senior executives conducted in Jan. and Feb. Still, 83 percent of the respondents expect the global credit crunch and economic slump to last for another one to two years.
LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – A wave of mergers and acquisitions could sweep the fund management industry this year as players come under pressure from the market turmoil, said speakers at the Reuters Funds Summit.
One leading hedge fund manager added that the consolidation could lead to the disappearance of half of the current hedge fund players.
"I would say that if half had to close, I wouldn’t be surprised," said Ken Kinsey-Quick, head of multi-manager products at London-based hedge fund Thames River Capital LLP.
"The consolidation is happening right now. By summer it will be done and dusted. Those that are going to be around, it will be pretty clear in June who those will be," he added.
Both hedge funds and more mainstream fund management companies have faced having to merge or be taken over due to the effects of the financial crisis, which has led to massive withdrawals of clients’ money.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Long time hedge fund manager, Eric D. Pedersen has been appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors at fresh water reclamation company, STW Resources, Inc.
Pedersen has over 20 years of mergers and acquisitions and financing transaction experience, a significant portion of which has been in the water industry. Prior to joining STW, Pedersen co-managed The Water Fund, LP, a New York-based hedge fund that invested globally in water-related companies.
“We are delighted to bring someone with Eric’s skill set aboard,” Gene Brock, President of the Company, commented. “The depth of his experience in both the finance and water sectors is very complementary to our already strong management bench.”
Pedersen added, “The combination of STW’s oilfield and project management capability with GE’s robust technology creates a partnership that can provide truly unique solutions to our customers’ product water challenges. I am very excited to be part of this dedicated and capable team.”
STW’s first project will utilize technology developed by GE Water & Process Technologies to reclaim approximately 70% of the fresh water from otherwise unusable oil and natural gas hydraulic fracture flow-back water and salt water that is produced in conjunction with the production of oil and natural gas.
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Bloomberg – Mohammed Syed has spent the past seven years scouting out the best hedge-fund investments for clients of his Axiom Fund Manager Ltd. Now, he’s seeking to expand the $100 million he oversees by acquiring rivals.
“I am looking for two or even three firms that can complement my business,” said Syed, 45, who founded London-based Axiom in 2002. “A year ago most people wanted huge premiums for their businesses, but now it’s a different story.”
Hedge funds are consolidating after record investment losses and customer withdrawals cut assets by 37 percent in the second half of 2008, squeezing their main source of fees. As many as 40 percent of the 9,000 hedge funds and funds of funds may disappear in the next two years, according to Karamvir Gosal, a New York- based investment banker at Jefferies Putnam Lovell. While some will return money to investors and shut their doors, mergers and acquisitions will be more prevalent than in the past.
