(Bloomberg) It’s the sort of event hedge funds were made for.Banco Popular Espanol SA’s takeover by Banco Santander SA for a token 1 euro wiped out the troubled lender’s stock and meant that, for the hedge funds betting against the bank, the gains could not have been greater.
Among the beneficiaries are Samlyn Capital LLC and Marshall Wace LLP which pushed short positions on Popular’s shares to a record high last month. Short sellers typically operate by selling borrowed stocks and buying them back at a lower price once they’ve — hopefully — fallen.
