Soros Fund Management Invests in French Company

Soros Fund Management disclosed a large stake in a French automotive company. According to French newspaper Le Figaro, the legendary investor George Soros obtained 1.70% capital or in other terms 1.65% of the voting rights of French automotive components manufacturer, Valeo through Soros Fund Management.

Soros Fund Management’s investment was not expected as George Soros is not normally known to invest significantly in France. Valeo, whose biggest share holder Caisse des depots with 8.94% of the capital, already attracted many hedge funds. Ken Griffin’s Citadel holds a 2.53% stake and Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Mgmt has 2.03% of the shares of Valeo as of June 30th.

Besides Soros Fund Management, BlackRock declared that it possessed 5.01% of the capital which is 4.87% of the voting rights of Valeo on Aug 10^th 2011.

Also, Morgan Stanley reiterated its positive opinion on Valeo in July 2011 by setting the target price of Valeo at 67 Euros. Valeo currently trades below 31 Euros. Here is Valeo’s profile from Reuters:

Valeo SA is a France-based industrial company focused on the design, production and sale of components, integrated systems and modules for the automotive industry. The Company has 16 product groups supplying the original equipment market and the aftermarket, regrouped into four Business Groups: Comfort and Driving Assistance Systems, Powertrain Systems, Thermal Systems and Visibility Systems. For replacement parts and services, Valeo SA supplies the original equipment spares (OES) and independent aftermarket (IAM) through its dedicated Valeo Service organization, which cooperates with the Business Groups. As of June 30, 2011, the Company operated 124 production sites, 21 research centers, 39 development centers and 10 distribution platforms.

Soros Fund Management: Top Stock Picks

Soros Fund Management had more than $7 Billion in investments in its 13F portfolio. Soros’ top position was a put option on S&P 500 ETF (SPY). Soros also had several bond positions among his top 20 holdings. Adecoagro (AGRO) and Interoil (IOC) are among Soros Fund Management’s top foreign stock picks. You can check out Soros Fund Management’s entire 13F portfolio by following the link.