Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (ADR) (NYSE:RBS), Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES)
In an interview with Deadline Hollywood, Mr Clooney, 52, said Mr Loeb was trying to manipulate the film market. “[Loeb] calls himself an activist investor, and I would call him a carpet bagger, and one who is trying to spread a climate of fear that pushes studios to want to make only tent poles,” Mr Clooney said, referring to high-profile, big budget films. “What he’s doing is scaring studios and pushing them to make decisions from a place of fear. Why is he buying stock like crazy if he’s so down on things? He’s trying to manipulate the market.” Mr Loeb’s Third Point hedge fund owns 7pc of Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) stock and Mr Loeb has been calling for Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) to spin off part of its entertainment arm.
Michael Dell closes in on buyout with $25 billion deal (BusinesssPectator)
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) and Chief Executive Michael Dell clinched a new $US25 billion deal on Friday, boosting the bid and offering a special dividend in hopes of ending months of wrangling with opponents of the founder’s proposed buyout of the world’s No. 3 PC maker. The new agreement includes a special dividend of 13 cents per share on top of a 10-cent increase in the sale price to $US13.75 per share. In return, Michael Dell and his private equity partner Silver Lake convinced the company’s special committee to agree to change the voting rules so that abstentions no longer count as opposing votes, a big boost for their camp. Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) shares rose after the announcement. But activist investor Carl Icahn, who has amassed an 8.7 per cent stake in Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) and has opposed the buyout offer as too low, vowed to keep fighting.
Health food fight ramps up as Ackman hits Soros over Herbalife (NYPost)
The closely watched battle of the hedge-fund billionaires over Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) is about to get a lot nastier. Bill Ackman has filed a complaint with regulators against George Soros’ family fund and unidentified co-conspirators alleging Soros’ firm broke insider-trading rules by tipping hedge funds about its purchases of shares in the LA-based multi-level marketing company, The Post has learned. Soros Fund Management has been trying to use the reputation of the 82-year-old financier to orchestrate a short squeeze against the $1 billion Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) short bet of Ackman’s Pershing Square hedge fund, Ackman alleged in a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, according to sources.
Largest U.S. hedge funds have $1.47tln in net assets and $1tln in borrowings, says SEC (Opalesque)
In the week-ending 02 August 2013, it was reported that Alpinvesta had launched a fund of managed futures funds investment program; Consilium revealed its plan to launch its third buyout fund; former oil and natural gas trader Jonathan Goldberg will launch a commodities hedge fund this month; Man Group’s unit GLG Partners launched the GLG Total Return Fund; and Scotia Private Client Group launched the Scotia Long Short Equity Fund. Roc Capital said it would close down its main hedge fund after losing money.
Aquila hires hedge fund manager for new fund (CityWire)
Hamburg-based Aquila Capital has hired former hedge fund manager Dorothee Goerz to start on a new alternative strategy planned to be launched this autumn. Goerz joins from London-based hedge fund advisor Aremus Partners where she specialised in both event driven and long-short equity strategies. She will be the third hire for Aquila’s London-based team. Citywire understands that a second hire will be made for the London office in the coming weeks.
TCI pushes EADS to ditch Dassault stake (FT)
TCI, the activist hedge fund, has written to the chief executive of EADS to demand it sell one of its most sensitive assets in a direct challenge to the defence company’s management and the French government. The hedge fund – whose aggressive activist style has earned it notoriety among European companies – has told Tom Enders, EADS’ chief executive, that the company should sell immediately its €4bn stake in Dassault Aviation, a strategically important French defence player and the maker of the Rafale fighter jet.
High-yield Asia debt boom spurs ex-RBS exec to start hedge fund (Reuters)
A trio of French ex-bankers led by former Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (ADR) (NYSE:RBS) managing director Geoffroy Wallier are planning a $40 million Asia fund, seeking to cash in on a red-hot Asian credit market that offers the potential for much greater returns than Western counterparts. The launch, part of a global trend of bankers starting their own hedge funds as U.S. regulators increasingly restrict banks from trading with their own money, comes amid a notoriously tough capital raising environment for Asian hedge funds due to poor returns and the small size of many of the start-ups.
Asian investors warming to hedge funds of funds (PIOnline)
Hedge funds-of-funds providers say they are getting a fresh look from institutional investors in Asia this year, after a prolonged drought. It’s not a flood, but there’s been a noticeable pickup in dialogue and RFPs, especially from North Asian markets such as Korea and Japan, said James A. Rice, senior managing director and head of international with K2 Advisors LLC in Tokyo. On July 17, Korea Post Insurance, which manages $27 billionin premiums for insurance policies sold through the country’s post office network, issued an RFP for global hedge funds-of-funds managers with multistrategy offerings.
Institutions probably won’t lose investments in S.A.C. (PIOnline)
Institutional investors have survived another hedge fund blowup — this time S.A.C. Capital Advisors LP — with barely a bruise. The Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Attorney Preetinder Singh “Preet” Bharara for the Southern District of New York have filed civil and criminal cases, respectively, stemming from their investigations – with the assistance of the FBI – of alleged insider trading by the S.A.C. complex of companies. To date, six S.A.C. or affiliate company portfolio managers or research analysts have pleaded guilty to insider-trading charges. Portfolio managers Mathew Martoma and Michael Steinberg are scheduled to stand trial later this year on similar charges.
Will Rhode Island’s big bet on hedge funds pay off? (ProvidenceJournal)
A few weeks ago, New York billionaire hedge fund trader Daniel Loeb, who has $66 million in Rhode Island state pension funds, made nearly 10 times that when he sold 40 million shares of Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) stock, two years after buying a stake in the Internet giant and orchestrating Marissa Mayer’s hiring as CEO. In the spring, another billionaire hedge fund manager, Paul Singer, who has $70 million in Rhode Island pension money, made headlines for buying up Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) stock and forcing a board shakeup to prod the oil company to pursue fracking for natural gas. The jury’s still out on that deal.
US hedge funds move into ‘Newcits’ (FT)
More than half of US hedge fund groups have launched a traditional mutual fund, are in the process of launching one or are considering doing so, according to new research. This replicates a similar trend in Europe, where an easing of investment restrictions for mainstream Ucits funds opened the door to a swath of “hedge-fund lite” Newcits vehicles. Several US hedge fund houses, such as AQR Capital Management, Highbridge and Ramius, have already launched ’40 Act funds – mutual funds regulated under the 1940 Investment Company Act – in order to widen their investor base. Traditional houses such as Pimco have also moved into the so-called “liquid alternatives” arena.
The Life And Career Of Bill Ackman — The Hedge Fund Manager Everyone’s Picking On These Days (BusinessInsider)
Ever since activist investor Bill Ackman publicly declared he’s shorting Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), he has become the target of the biggest names in the hedge fund community. The tall, handsome, silver-haired billionaire founder of Pershing Square Capital Management has a reputation for being extremely confident. However, some rival fund managers have described him as “sanctimonious” and they view going long Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) as an opportunity to squeeze Ackman on his short position.
