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

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