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.
Forbes – French bank Societe Generale (SocGen) plans to reduce its holdings in its China fund joint venture due to regulatory concerns after a global reorganisation, two people familiar with the situation said.
SocGen already owns a fund venture with a unit of Shanghai Baosteel Group, and will become an indirect stakeholder in Credit Agricole’s Chinese venture after the two banks complete a planned merger of their global asset management businesses.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Hedge fund manager Rosseau Asset Management Ltd. and certain related parties have filed a dissident’s proxy circular (the "Dissident’s Circular") to Noront Resources Ltd., in which the hedge fund group controls over approximately 9.2% of common shares.
Rosseau asks Noront’s shareholders to vote against the re-election of the Company’s current Board of Directors and instead vote to elect a new slate of directors at the upcoming annual meeting of shareholders scheduled to be held on October 28, 2008.
During recent meetings between Rosseau and Noront’s management, the hedge fund manager indicated it wanted significant changes to Noront’s Board of Directors and some senior management.
Rosseau rejected Noront’s compromise proposal and has commenced its proxy fight with the filing of the Dissident’s Circular, saying, "Rosseau’s action is not in the best interest of shareholders. It is an opportunistic attempt, in light of extraordinary recent market conditions……Norent will respond (to the circular) shortly."
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New York (HedgeCo.Net) – New York hedge fund Elliott International’s quest to place two members of its team on the board of New Zealand-based Telecom has officially come to an end when they failed to win the bid at the annual shareholders meeting today.
Elliot had nominated Mark Tume and Mark Cross in August, after poor performance by Telecom prompted their desire to shake up the board in pursuit of higher returns.
"In our view, Telecom’s performance languishes behind that of other key telecommunications players in the international market, and we believe this is partly due to an unclear and outdated strategy. Shareholders and customers remain dissatisfied with Telecom’s progress," Portfolio Manager James Smith had said.
Elliot is well known in the states for taking over faltering companies and engaging in proxy battles with the intentions of restructuring.
In 2006, Elliot proposed that Telecom be split into two separate entities, with each company having its own listing on the stock exchange. Telecom Chairman Wayne Boyd came to his company’s defense, saying that a split was not in the best interest of the shareholders.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
HedgeCo.Net is a premier hedge fund database and community for qualified and accredited investors only. Membership on www.hedgeco.net is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds! Be sure to check out our sister sites. For more information, visit www.hedgeconetworks.com
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Shareholders in Falkland Gold & Minerals have approved plans to buy Bahamas-based oil exploration company BPC after a unanimous vote yesterday.
Philip Richards, head of the RAB Special Situations Fund that owns a 76 percent stake in Falkland, will pocket around £1m thanks to the reverse takeover and his vast personal stake in BPC of 300,000 shares.
While there has been some question regarding a possible conflict of interest with a hedge fund manager having that kind of stake in a company, Richards has been completely transparent in his holdings long before the meeting in which shareholders overwhelmingly approved the takeover.
"This was a deal recommended by two strong independent and separate boards, both of which concluded that it was in the best interest of all their respective shareholders," said a spokesperson for RAB.
Shareholders will get six shares of Falkland for every one share of BPC.
RAB made headlines when the fund experienced sharp declines amidst the nationalization of Northern Rock, in which they amassed a significant stake. Meanwhile, Falkland has posted losses of over 90 percent over the past four years, prompting investors in the Special Situations Fund to lose an estimated £11m.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
HedgeCo.Net is a premier hedge fund database and community for qualified and accredited investors only. Membership on www.hedgeco.net is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds! Be sure to check out our sister sites. For more information, visit www.hedgeconetworks.com
Reuters – Hedge fund Ore Hill Partners, which specialises in credit strategies, has barred clients from redeeming their money from its flagship offering, imposing a freeze just as investors clamored for an exit, the company said on Friday.
The firm, half owned by Man Group, the world’s largest publicly traded hedge fund, put up a so-called gate provision on its roughly $1.2 billion (650 million pound) Ore Hill International portfolio this week, limiting the amount of withdrawals after investors sought the return of roughly $300 million, said an investor who asked not to be identified.
Heavy redemptions for September triggered an automatic gate, said Sophie Sophaon, a spokeswoman for the fund. Fund directors are considering what measures to take that will be in the best interest of all investors, she added.
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Harbinger Capital Partners is no stranger to aggressively seeking strategic changes within companies in which they invest. This month, it’s Harbinger vs. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. The mining company is urging shareholders to reject a bid by the activist hedge fund that would give them veto power over one of Cleveland-Cliffs proposed acquisitions.
Harbinger is the company’s largest shareholder with a 15.5 percent stake. The hedge fund is protesting the potential acquisition of Alpha Natural Resources in what would be a $8.1 billion deal. Harbinger believes it is not in the best interest of the shareholders. Meanwhile, the hedge fund is trying to increase its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs to as much as one-third.
Harbinger has made headlines recently for similar antics involving their other investments, including the New York Times and Media General. Harbinger was awarded two seats on the board of the Times, while acquiring three seats on Media General’s board.
In order for the deal to take place, 66 percent of shareholders must approve the bid for Alpha. The vote which will decide Harbinger’s control share acquisition will take place on October 3.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
HedgeCo.Net is a premier hedge fund database and community for qualified and accredited investors only. Membership on www.hedgeco.net is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds! Be sure to check out our sister sites. For more information, visit www.hedgeconetworks.com
Bloomberg – Daniel Loeb, whose Third Point LLC is being investigated by regulators, said his "give-and-take” with other hedge-fund managers doesn’t violate securities laws.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is probing New York-based Third Point, which manages $5.6 billion, for its communications with other hedge funds, Loeb said in a July 25 letter to clients. The investigation follows an SEC audit last year during which examiners noted the firm "regularly communicated with hedge funds about investment and trading ideas,” according to the letter.
"Such conversations permit us to test our hypotheses and refine our thinking and, as a result, we believe that participating in give-and-take with other managers is in the best interest of our investors,” Loeb wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News. "Our outside counsel has examined this matter thoroughly and assured us that our position is consistent with the securities laws.”
Reuters – Hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners said on Thursday it is seeking approval from Cleveland Cliff’s shareholders to boost its ownership stake to as much as a third of the iron-ore company.
Harbinger — already Cleveland-Cliffs’ largest shareholder — opposes Cleveland Cliffs’ proposed takeover of Alpha Natural Resources, saying it believes the Alpha deal is not in the best interest of shareholders.
The fund said in a regulatory filing that it has asked Cliffs for a shareholder vote that would allow Harbinger to acquire shares that would bring its ownership up to more than one-fifth, but less than one-third, of Cliffs’ outstanding shares.
Seeking Alpha- In a 13G filing after the close Friday on Sunoco, Inc. (SUN), Philip Falcone’s Harbinger Capital disclosed a 6.6% stake (7,732,600 shares) in the company. The hedge fund did not show a stake in Sunoco at the quarter ended 03/31/08.
A 13G indicates a ‘passive investment’, but Harbinger is a known activist investor. Most recently, Harbinger called on Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) to cancel its merger with Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (ANR), saying it was not in the best interest of shareholders.
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – After months of on-again off-again talks between Yahoo and Microsoft, the possibility of a merger looks to be back on.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft said they may be interested in restarting talks if the internet giant’s board was replaced, a move that billionaire tycoon Carl Icahn has been striving to achieve.
"If Microsoft and Mr. Ballmer really want to purchase Yahoo, we again invite them to make a proposal immediately," Yahoo said in a recent statement.
Icahn had launched a proxy battle to replace Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang and other members of the Yahoo board after they originally rejected Microsoft’s first offer for $47.5 billion. Icahn blamed it on Yang’s personal disdain for Microsoft and said they were not acting in the shareholders best interest. Backed by a few prominent hedge funds who also acquired massive shares in Yahoo, it looked as if Icahn was going to score a victory only to have talks cool shortly thereafter.
While some shareholders are reluctant at how Icahn would manage the company, others are urging him to push for fewer seats on the board. Yahoo’s annual shareholder meeting will be held on August 1st.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
HedgeCo.Net is a premier hedge fund database and community for qualified and accredited investors only. Membership on www.hedgeco.net is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds! Be sure to check out our sister sites. For more information, visit www.hedgeconetworks.com
