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.
JP Morgan Chase & Co and Citadel Investment Group resumed trading with each other on Friday, one day after the bank had cut off the hedge fund over a hiring dispute, a person familiar with the matter said.
"The dispute has been resolved," a person familiar with the hedge fund said on Friday.
Citadel’s officials could not be reached for comment at the office.
Citadel, one of the world’s largest hedge fund firms with roughly $20 billion in assets, clashed with JP Morgan because it had hired a string of executives from America’s second largest bank this year, people familiar with the matter said.
They said JP Morgan told employees to stop trading stocks, bonds and currencies with Citadel on Thursday morning, essentially prohibiting anyone from buying or selling with the hedge fund.
By Friday, the differences had been resolved and business was back to normal, the person said.
Reuters – Hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners said it is not pulling out of high-profile investments like The New York Times Co. and Media General Inc., seeking to quell market rumors after their share prices dropped sharply on Monday.
Philip Falcone, who runs the hedge fund, told Reuters that investors would be mistaken if they thought selling by Harbinger was behind the double-digit percentage declines in stocks it holds, including the Times, Media General Inc., Cablevision Systems Corp, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and Calpine Corp.
"People are speculating as to what we’re doing and why we’re doing it, but the reality is different from what they think," Falcone, Harbinger’s senior managing director, said in a phone interview.
He said that while their main fund’s composition has changed since its most recent 13 F regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on August 13, Harbinger remained bullish on its investments.
Business Week – A hedge fund known for shaking up underperforming companies has increased its stake in Cablevision Systems Corp. to 9.1 percent, according to a regulatory filing Thursday.
Harbinger Capital Partners now owns more than 21 million shares of the diversified cable operator, up from nearly 19 million shares, or 8.1 percent of Class A shares, its stake as of a regulatory filing made last month. In an earlier August filing, Harbinger disclosed that it held a 4.9 percent stake. The Dolan family owns the Class B shares.
"As we stated previously, we welcome all investors and their focus on enhancing value for all shareholders," said Charlie Schueler, spokesman for Bethpage, N.Y.-based Cablevision.
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – As if trying to secure $6.1 billion in financing to exit bankruptcy isn’t enough of a headache, now Delphi has to deal with counterclaims by hedge fund Appaloosa Management who is demanding that the U.S. auto parts supplier pay them $82.5 million in fees plus expenses.
Appaloosa claims they are entitled to that money because Delphi violated the terms of their agreement. The original agreement entailed Appaloosa heading the rescue of Delphi, offering them $2.55 billion if they secured the rest of the capital needed to exit Chapter 11. On the last day of the deadline, Appaloosa walked away from their commitment, leaving Delphi high and dry with little alternatives.
Delphi then proceeded to sue Appaloosa, hoping to make them deliver on their promise of the much needed capital. The hedge fund however, expressed concern on the company’s overreliance to once parent company GM, who guaranteed Delphi a $2 billion piece of their financial puzzle.
Delphi spokesperson Lindsay Williams said, “"We continue to believe that the plan investors failed to honor their commitment at the April 4 closing, causing unnecessary harm in delaying our emergence from Chapter 11. We’ll continue to pursue legal remedies in court.”
In its counterclaim, Appaloosa sates that the agreement with General Motors “violates the express terms."
Appaloosa is just one of the would-be investors who is seeking a piece of the $82.5 million. Others include Harbinger Capital Partners, Merrill Lynch, UBS and Pardus Capital Management, who all commited to Delphi’s rescue.
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) – 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
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.
New York Post – After months of falling financial stocks and rising oil prices, July’s sudden turnaround was a welcome relief to average investors.
Not so for hedge funds – including subprime-mortgage superstar Phil Falcone.
That’s because a number of smart-money investors, including Falcone’s Harbinger Capital Partners, got slammed when oil took an unexpected dive, and Wall Street stocks suddenly popped in mid-July.
It was the exact reversal of otherwise long-winning bets that energy prices would continue to climb and financial firms would keep getting pummeled.
"July will be bad in aggregate for the hedge fund industry," said Veryan Allen, who advises large investors on hedge funds. "The short squeeze in financial stocks and the oil selloff has hurt quite a few," he said.
Gulf Times- Managers from William Ackman to Jim Rogers made a total of at least $1.4bn in July with wagers against US mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Harbinger Capital Partners staked $665mn that UK mortgage lender HBOS would drop and Sao Paulo-based hedge-fund manager Francisco Meirelles de Andrade’s short selling of Cia. Vale do Rio Doce is also paying off.
More than $1.4tn of equities worldwide are now on loan, about a third higher than at the start of 2007, data compiled by Spitalfields Advisors, the London-based firm specialising in securities lending, show. Almost all of that is being used to speculate that shares will fall, according to James Angel, a finance professor at Georgetown University who studies short selling.
Sydney Morning Herald- The ownership structure of some of Australia’s largest mining companies could be set for a major change after New York hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners has indicated it believes commodities prices could be nearing their peak.
Harbinger, which has substantial stakes in Australian miners Fortescue Metals, Murchison Metals, Midwest and Moly Mines, has emerged as an opponent of US iron ore miner Cleveland-Cliffs’ proposed $US10 billion acquisition of coalminer Alpha Natural Resources.
Cliffs – which has an 85 per cent stake in West Australian iron ore miner Portman Mining – wants to merge with Alpha to form a more diversified supplier to the steel industry. But Harbinger, which owns 18.4 per cent of Cliffs, has told the US Securities and Exchange Commission it believes the deal is "not in the best interest of shareholders".
CNNMoney.com- Hedge funds hate to see their names in the headlines, but lately, they’ve been the ones breaking the news about companies they invest in.
Daniel Loeb’s Third Point LLC disclosed in a Monday regulatory filing that Maguire Properties Inc. (MPG) had received a buyout offer for about $20 a share, a level the stock hasn’t traded at since March. Third Point’s disclosure sent shares of Maguire, a real-estate investment trust, up more than 15% early in the day to above $14, before it fell back with the rest of the market. The bid turned out to be for $20.25 a share by a private company, Pacific Office Properties, The Wall Street Journal reported later Monday.
The filing by Third Point, which owns 8.8% of Maguire shares, wasn’t the first of its kind. In late May, 24% Calpine Corp. (CPN) holder Harbinger Capital Partners disclosed in an open letter that NRG Energy Group Inc. (NRG) had made an $11 billion offer to Calpine, an offer that Calpine later rejected. At a time when activist investors are trudging through a bear market along with the rest of the investment community, hedge-fund activists are getting more involved in trying to fetch buyout offers, and in many cases they appear to be communicating with the would-be buyers.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.Net)- The Managed Funds Association MFA and CME Group (CME), a Strategic Partner member, recently arrived back from a jointly arranged trip to meet with Chinese government officials, policy makers and financial services representatives.
The MFA and CME co-sponsored a conference, "Global Markets and the Role of Alternative Investments" was held in June with the Tianjin Municipal People’s Government and China Foreign Exchange Administration Magazine.
"The conference agenda helped us to continue a dialogue about the important role of alternative investments in the capital markets and to strengthen relationships in China as its economy and financial markets grow." Richard H. Baker, MFA President and CEO, said.
Members who participated in the conference included; Citadel Investment Group, L.L.C.; Fairfield Greenwich Group (FGG); Harbinger Capital Partners Funds; Moore Capital Management, LLC; Tudor Investment Corporation; the D.E. Shaw Group; Paulson & Co., Inc.; and S.A.C. Capital Advisors, LLC.
"MFA’s visit to China is part of its ongoing international outreach with policy makers and its mission to provide information about the global alternative investment industry." MFA said.
MFA is the voice of the global alternative investment industry. Its members include professionals in hedge funds, funds of funds and managed futures funds. MFA Members represent the majority of the largest hedge fund groups in the world who manage a substantial portion of the approximately $2 trillion invested in absolute return strategies.
The Independent- The American hedge fund group Harbinger Capital Partners revealed that it has made a significant bet on HBOS’s price falling, while its UK counterpart GLG admitted it is targeting the rival mortgage bank Bradford & Bingley, as investors were forced yesterday to disclose their short positions to the market for the first time.
The Financial Services Authority shocked the trading community a fortnight ago when it announced that investors would be compelled to disclose short positions of more than 0.25 per cent of share capital in companies carrying out rights issues.
The announcements started on Friday, and continued yesterday with 20 investors, predominantly hedge funds, disclosing short positions in seven companies that are in the process of carrying out rights issues.
