The Failed Effort to Buy the US Constitution could Cost More Than $1.5 Million in Crypto Fees (Quartz)
Buying the US Constitution is expensive, especially if you don’t succeed. On Nov. 18, a group of cryptocurrency investors banded together online to form a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), a collective managed on a blockchain, to buy a rare copy of the US Constitution at Sotheby’s auction house. Despite raising a staggering $47 million in cryptocurrency, the group known a ConstitutionDAO was outbid by Ken Griffin, the billionaire CEO of the hedge fund Citadel.
Thyssenkrupp Trades Lower After Activist Fund Cevian Slashes Stake (Market Watch)
Shares in Thyssenkrupp AG fell on Tuesday after Swedish activist investor Cevian Capital said it had cut its stake in the German industrial conglomerate to 7.9% from 15%. Shares at 1105 GMT were down 7.2% at EUR10.48. Cevian didn’t disclose the price at which it sold the shares, but having built its stake in 2013 and 2014 at an average of around EUR17.81 a share, the Stockholm-based hedge fund would have recorded a substantial loss, according to FactSet data.
Here’s an Exclusive Look at the 13-Slide Pitch Deck that NFT Authentication Start-Up ORIGYN Used to Raise $20 Million from Investors Including Bill Ackman and Paris Hilton (Business Insider)
The NFT authentication start-up ORIGYN Foundation just raised $20 million in its first funding round, pulling in investments from activist investor Bill Ackman, blockchain specialists Polychain Capital, and socialite and businesswoman Paris Hilton. The Swiss firm, which was valued at $300 million in the private funding round, uses AI technology to verify non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. An NFT is a unique, blockchain-based digital asset that represents ownership of a real-world item – such as artwork, music, or luxury goods.
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New York Hedge Fund Makes Bid for Large Independent Newspaper Chain (WBUR.org)
New York hedge fund Alden Global Capital has made an offer to acquire one of the last big independent newspaper chains in the country. The firm’s bid for Lee Enterprises is causing a stir in the newspaper industry, as Roben Farzad, host of public radio’s “Full Disclosure,” explains.
Newpark Resources Pressed to Separate Units by Activist Investor (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Newpark Resources, a provider of drilling fluids systems and composite matting systems used in oilfields, is being pushed by an activist investor to separate its industrials systems and fluids business, according to a letter seen by Reuters. Bradley Radoff, a private investor who previously worked as a portfolio manager at Daniel Loeb’s Third Point hedge fund, has approached Newpark’s board and is pushing for the split. He argues that the two segments lack synergies, appeal to different investor bases and boost excessive corporate costs.
BlueBay launches new ESG-focused Multi-Asset Credit Fund (Hedge Week)
The Royal Bank of Canada’s specialist fixed income manager, BlueBay Asset Management (BlueBay), has launched its latest ESG-focused strategy. The BlueBay Total Return Diversified Credit ESG Fund enables fixed income investors to gain an exposure to the firms ‘best ideas’ through an ESG lens across global high yield, bank loans, financial capital bonds, structured credit, Convertible bonds, emerging markets and developed market investment grade. The new Luxembourg SIF fund, which is categorised under Article 8 of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), will focus on using BlueBay’s proprietary ESG research to identify and avoid investments with excessive ESG risks.
Hedge Funds May Be Making A Comeback Among Investors, And Here’s Why (Forbes)
Hedge funds had their heyday before the global financial crisis in 2008, but things could finally be looking up for the asset class. A new paper from Peltz International points to signs that hedge funds are rebounding and questions whether hedge funds are now able to return to their glory days. Strong performance over the last 18 months: According to Peltz, investor confidence has returned due to strong hedge fund performance over the last 18 months. Funds recorded an 11.6% return last year due mostly to the strong performance in the last nine months of the year. In fact, 2020 brought their best return in a decade despite the ongoing pandemic. This year, hedge funds were already up by approximately 10% through the end of August.
China Slows Quant Hedge Fund Approvals as Trades Scrutinized (Bloomberg)
China is tightening approvals for quantitative hedge funds in the latest sign that officials are concerned about the potential market impact of trading driven by algorithms after a year of rapid asset expansion. The Asset Management Association of China, which approves registration of new quant funds, closed a fast-track channel in recent weeks for at least some managers, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be named discussing private information. The association has also rejected applications that use token amounts to launch new offerings, the people said.
Transcription Services Provider Verbit Raises Pre-IPO Funding at $2 bln Valuation (Reuters)
Nov 23 (Reuters) – Transcription and captioning services provider Verbit on Tuesday notched a valuation of about $2 billion by selling $150 million worth of new shares in a funding round led by Third Point Ventures. The startup, which uses artificial intelligence to offer services such as live captioning and the real-time transcription of webinars and meetings, also allowed some employees and existing investors to sell $100 million of their own shares.
Boothbay Vet Launching Crypto Hedge Fund Firm (The Street)
The former chief operating officer of multi-strategy hedge fund operator Boothbay Fund Management is launching a new firm that would trade both cryptocurrencies and traditional asset classes, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.
Notable Kaleyra Insider Makes $610K Sale (Benzinga)
Avi S Katz, Insider at Kaleyra (NYSE:KLR), made a large insider sell on November 19, according to a new SEC filing. What Happened: A Form 4 filing from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday showed that Katz sold 50,000 shares of Kaleyra at prices ranging from $12.27 to $12.35. The total transaction amounted to $614,615. Following the transaction, Katz still owns 2,446,270 shares of the company, worth $29,771,105.00.
A Director at Information Services Group (NASDAQ: III) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, a Director at Information Services Group (III), Neil Budnick, sold shares of III for $941.2K. Based on Information Services Group’s latest earnings report for the quarter ending September 30, the company posted quarterly revenue of $71.1 million and quarterly net profit of $4.42 million. In comparison, last year the company earned revenue of $61.64 million and had a net profit of $2.06 million.
