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.
PerthNow – Mr Geffen tried to acquire a 19 per cent stake in the New York Times Company that was held by Harbinger Capital Partners, the activist hedge fund, but was rebuffed, it emerged overnight.
Since 1896, the newspaper has been controlled by the Ochs-Sulzberger family, whose members maintain their grip with a separate class of super-voting shares.
However, the dominance of the family, headed by Arthur Sulzberger, has come under pressure as advertising has collapsed and losses have mounted, which have led to speculation that The New York Times may be sold.
Reuters – Media mogul David Geffen tried to buy a stake in the New York Times Co from hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, but was rejected, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Monday.
Geffen offered to buy the stake at market price, but Harbinger fund manager Phillip Falcone wanted him to pay a premium, according to the source.
Reuters UK – Hedge fund millionaire Bertrand des Pallieres’s SPQR Capital has launched a bid to trump BlueGem Water’s proposed stake building in stockbroker Panmure Gordon & Co.
SPQR said that, via vehicle P.G. Holdings, it proposed to take part in a placing of at least 43 percent of Panmure’s capital at a price of at least 28 pence per share, a minimum total spend of 17.4 million pounds.
Last month, private equity firm BlueGem Capital Partners said it would take a stake of 40 percent in Panmure at 24 pence per share.
Globe and Mail – An Indian mining giant has quietly amassed a near 10-per-cent stake in HudBay Minerals Inc., HBM securing a major advantage over potential rival suitors for the Canadian zinc and copper producer that has hired advisers to explore the company’s strategic options.
Documents filed in Ontario Superior Court show Lakomasko BV, a privately held company based in Amsterdam, owns 14.5 million HudBay shares – about 9.5 per cent of the Toronto mining firm.
Globe and Mail – An Indian mining giant has quietly amassed a near 10-per-cent stake in HudBay Minerals Inc., securing a major advantage over potential rival suitors for the Canadian zinc and copper producer that has hired advisers to explore the company’s strategic options.
Documents filed in Ontario Superior Court show Lakomasko BV, a privately held company based in Amsterdam, owns 14.5 million HudBay shares – about 9.5 per cent of the Toronto mining firm.
Independent – A New York-based hedge fund, run by former Goldman Sachs executives and family members of the Ziff Davis publishing dynasty, has become the biggest shareholder in Babcock & Brown Capital (BCM), Eircom’s main shareholder.
Och-Ziff Capital Management now holds just over 12pc of the potential takeover target, having increased its stake from 4.76pc just a day after the unsolicited €95m bid for BCM from an Australian consortium including Rob Topfer who orchestrated the company’s bid for Eircom back in 2006.
Forbes – The investment office of the Guinness family, which made its fortune in brewing, has taken a stake in 47 Degrees North and will back future fund launches, the fund of hedge funds firm said on Monday.
Under the deal, Iveagh will be a minority shareholder in 47 Degrees North and provide seed capital for new launches, which are set to include emerging managers and innovative hedge fund strategies, the hedge fund firm said in a statement. It did not give the size of the stake.
Interactive Investor – Activist hedge fund Algebris has sold its stake in Italian insurer Assicurazione Generali SpA , a newspaper said on Tuesday, but a financial source said Algebris would attend the shareholder meeting this week.
Algebris head Davide Serra criticised Generali’s governance last year, a rare move among Italian shareholders, and lost his bid to appoint an auditor. He resumed his campaign last July by querying Generali investments.
Times Online – John Ho, the head of The Children’s Investment Fund’s (TCI) operations in Asia, is poised to resign over what sources describe as a “clash of minds” with Chris Hohn, its notoriously abrasive founder.
The same sources said that the two had fallen out over investment strategy and changes in the way the £6.5 billion fund is run. The hedge fund invests on behalf of a charitable foundation run by Mr Hohn’s wife.
The alleged disagreement follows a year of terrible investment losses during which Mr Hohn’s master fund is understood to have shed more than 40 per cent of its value. The fund has also lost several key figures in quick succession and its appetite for shareholder activism appears to be dwindling with the recent sale of most of its stake in Deutsche Börse.
ShareCast – Private equity group BlueGem is to take a 40% stake in stockbroker Panmure Gordon in a move that will inject £17.3m of capital into the broker.Panmure Gordon has placed 72m new shares with BlueGem at 24p per share.
The acquisition of the stake represents BlueGem’s fourth investment and its first in the financial services sector. The company was formed in late 2006 by experienced investment bankers and fund managers to make investments in mid-market companies, predominantly in the UK and Italy.
The net proceeds from the placing will ‘significantly strengthen the company’s balance sheet’, the company said, giving it regulatory assets in excess of £40m, more than three times more than its required regulatory capital.
Reuters India – New Vernon Bought stakes in Indage Vitners and Orbit Corp. Deutsche Sec bought 11% into UB Group.
Private equity and hedge funds seem to be playing their parts in the brief rally that the Indian stock markets are witnessing. Multi-strategy fund New Vernon has picked up minor stakes in two
companies. New Vernon bought little more than 3% stake in Indage Vintners for Rs 2.76 crore. Indage Vintners, formerly known as Champagne Indage, is one of the oldest wine producer in the country.
BusinessWeek – Macquarie Capital Group and State Bank of India (SBI) plan to raise a new $2 billion fund that will invest in direct infrastructure investment opportunities in India.
Macquarie and SBI have signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a company and manage the proposed fund. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), as one of the fund’s cornerstone investors, will also have a stake in the proposed company.
