Fir Tree Inc. Reported 13.2% Activist Stake in Chinacast Education

Fir Tree Inc. reported 13.2% activist stake in Chinacast Education Corp (CAST) on December 2nd. The filing shows Fir Tree now takes 6.45 million shares in the stock, and the position is unchanged since the second quarter. In the filing, Fir Tree restated its rights as a large stakeholder, and its designation of the issuer’s board of directors. Fir Tree may engage in communications with one or more shareholders or officers of CAST in the future, regarding these terms. CAST is now trading at $5.29, and has lost 31% year to date.

There are other hedge funds were bullish about CAST in the second quarter. Beside Fir Tree Inc.’s 6.45 million shares position, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates increased its position by 42%, and reported 2.51 million shares. Jeffrey Edwards’ East Peak Partners added CAST into its portfolio in the second quarter and reported 1 million shares .

According to Fir Tree’s profile on Linkedin, Fir Tree is a privately owned hedge fund. The firm manages a series of hedge funds and invests in the public equity and hedging markets of the United States. The firm typically invests in Technology, Financial, Services, Healthcare, Basic Material, and Consumer Goods sector. Fir Tree was founded in 1994 and is based in New York City with an additional office in Miami, Florida.

Per Google Finance, ChinaCast Education Corporation (CEC) “is a post-secondary education and e-Learning services provider in People’s Republic of China. The Company provides post-secondary degree and diploma programs through its two universities in China: The Foreign Trade and Business College of Chongqing Normal University and the Lijiang College of Guangxi Normal University. These universities offer bachelor’s degree and diploma programs in business, economics, law, information technology (IT)/computer engineering, hospitality and tourism management, advertising, language studies, art and music. The Company operates in two segments: the E-learning and training service group (the ELG). The Company provides its e-Learning services to post-secondary institutions, kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) schools, government agencies and corporate enterprises via its nationwide satellite/fiber broadband network.”