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.
Globe and Mail – HudBay Minerals Inc. chief executive officer Allen Palmiere tried to amend the terms of a controversial merger agreement with Lundin Mining Corp. after shareholders slammed the proposed transaction, according to court documents released by a hedge fund trying to oust Mr. Palmiere and the HudBay board.
Monaco-based SRM Global Master Fund LP, which owns 11 per cent of HudBay’s stock, said HudBay’s board of directors is “incapable of creating value and serving the best interest of shareholders,” in a filing with securities regulators Wednesday. The SRM circular calls HudBay’s ill-fated attempt to merge with Lundin a “slip-shod process” that included management-dominated negotiations and “neglect” by the HudBay board. It also includes an excerpt from a text message sent by Mr. Palmiere to Lundin’s CEO, Phil Wright, on Nov. 26, just five days after the deal to combine HudBay’s Manitoba zinc and copper operations with Lundin’s mines in Europe and Africa was announced.
Associated Press – Activist hedge fund manager William Ackman is in talks with Target Corp. about naming potential directors to the discount retailer’s board, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Thursday.
Target shares gained 61 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $28.43 in aftermarket electronic trading, after gaining 23 cents to close the regular session at $27.82. The stock has lost about half of its value since peaking at $59.55 in September before the market meltdown.
In recent months, Target Corp. has suffered from a drop in consumer spending, while other discount chains — particularly rival Wal-Mart Stores Inc. — have outperformed. While Wal-Mart concentrates on offering low-price essentials, Target has focused more on a cheap-chic variety of more discretionary items like clothing and home decor.
On Tuesday, Target reported that its fourth-quarter profit fell 41 percent.
Bloomberg – Hedge fund Eastbourne Capital Management LLC nominated five directors to the board of Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. and is supporting a slate put forward by investor Carl Icahn, after it “lost confidence” in leadership of the maker of the Byetta diabetes drug.
Eastbourne, which owns 12.5 percent of San Diego-based Amylin, said in a letter to management yesterday that the company’s board needs to be “significantly strengthened” after the stock fell almost 80 percent since Oct. 5, 2007. In November, Eastbourne said it was talking with Amylin about options including “a possible acquisition by a third party.”
Bloomberg – A hedge fund led by Frank Scheunert wants to oust Continental AG Chairman Hubertus von Gruenberg, Financial Times Deutschland reported, citing the investor.
Scheunert, who controls about 5 percent of the tiremaker’s stock, said Continental’s board is “destroying shareholder value,” according to the newspaper.
