Paulson Criticizes Executive Pay in Callon-Carrizo Oil Deal (Bloomberg)
Paulson & Co. reiterated its opposition to Callon Petroleum Co.’s planned takeover of rival Permian Basin crude producer Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc., this time targeting management compensation. In a letter to the Callon board on Tuesday, along with a 54-slide presentation, Paulson took aim at what it says are $94.5 million of expenses related to the proposed deal plus as much as $40 million in compensation to management of both companies. The New York hedge fund, founded by billionaire John Paulson, has a stake of about 9.5% in Callon.
Picton Mahoney Seals Deal for Five Vertex One Funds (InvestmentExecutive.com)
Vancouver-based Vertex One Asset Management Inc. and Toronto-based Picton Mahoney Asset Management have reached a deal that will see Picton Mahoney acquire five hedge and alternative investment funds from Vertex One. Pending regulator and unitholder approval, Picton Mahoney will take over as investment and portfolio manager of the five funds – the Vertex Liquid Alternative Fund, Vertex Liquid Alternative Fund Plus, Vertex Bond Alpha Fund, Vertex Arbitrage Fund and Vertex Arbitrage Fund Plus – that have approximately $380 million in assets.
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Two Hedge Funds Plan to Seek Talks With ForeScout Technologies on Prospects – Stock Surges Over 11% (Milburn Messenger)
ForeScout Technologies’ (FSCT) major investors, Corvex Management and Jericho Capital Asset Management, said they plan to meet with the security company on its prospects, sending the stock up over 11% on Monday. The two hedge funds, each holding 7.2% stake, said in separate regulatory filings that they have agreed “to work together to engage with the issuer and its management regarding its business and prospects” and that “combining their complementary expertise, skill sets and perspectives will be beneficial in discussions with the issuer.” They expect “having private discussions with the issuer as soon as practicable.”
Former Billionaire Michael Novogratz Says It’s ‘Insanity’ That his Billionaire Friends Feel Like ‘Victims’ of Elizabeth Warren’s Proposed Wealth Tax (Business Insider)
Billionaires are “really, really fearful” of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the former Goldman Sachs partner and hedge fund manager Michael Novogratz told Bloomberg’s Amanda L. Gordon in an interview published Monday. Novogratz, a hedge fund manager turned cryptocurrency investor, lost his billionaire status during the financial crisis, according to Forbes.
D.E. Shaw, Arrowstreet Bets Pay Off With Biogen Drug Revival (Bloomberg)
Biogen Inc. shareholders who stuck around despite dimming prospects for the company’s experimental Alzheimer’s therapy are being rewarded for their patience Tuesday after the shocking plans for the drug’s return triggered a record rally in the share price. Shares of the drugmaker surged 38% to $308.42 at 9:38 a.m. in New York, almost completely erasing losses from when the drug failed an analysis back in March. RBC Capital analyst Brian Abrahams wrote that Biogen’s plans to file for approval early next year bring “back to life a drug that had been completely left for dead.”
Hong Kong Hedge Funds Report USD1bn Outflows in Q3 (Asia-First.com)
Hong Kong recorded some USD1bn in hedge fund redemptions in the third quarter of this year, a consequence of both the ongoing US-China trade dispute and the protests that have afflicted the city since early June, according to report by Eurekahedge, the Singapore-headquartered hedge fund database provider. The report’s findings also indicated that this quarterly outflow was comparable to the sums recorded during the 2008 global financial crisis. Overall, the net withdrawals over the three-month period matched the USD1bn redemptions recorded for the second quarter of 2016. Despite this, though, according to the company, the biggest quarterly outflows since the financial crisis took place were in the first and second quarters of 2009 when USD6.4bn and USD2.6bn, respectively, exited the city.
Carl Icahn Won’t Play Chess With His Son Anymore, But May Let Him Manage Money Again (Deal Breaker)
Here’s a heartwarming paternal anecdote about one Carl C. Icahn: For years, although he prefers poker, the legendary investor set aside Sundays to play some (for him) rather low-stakes games of chess with his son, Brett. Last year, he stopped. You can guess why. The two for years played Sunday-evening matches, but they stopped about a year ago after Brett consistently won, at times costing his father as much as $20,000 in lost wagers.
Hedge Fund Redemptions Continue in August as Industry Sees USD11.3bn in Outflows, Says Backstop BarclayHedge (Hedge Week)
The hedge fund redemption trend stretched to three straight months in August as the industry experienced USD11.3 billion in outflows, according to the Barclay Fund Flow Indicator published by BarclayHedge. August’s redemptions represented 0.4 per cent of industry assets and were an increase from July’s USD8.1 billion in industry outflows. Coupled with monthly trading losses of USD10.3 billion, hedge fund industry assets stood at more than USD3.08 trillion as August ended, down from USD3.12 trillion at the end of July.
First on CNN: Environmental Group Files SEC Complaint about Mining Company Stock Trades Days Before Major EPA Announcement (CNN)
Washington (CNN): An environmental group on Monday called on the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate possible insider trading involving a mining company that is pursuing a massive gold and copper mine in Alaska near the world’s most valuable salmon fishery. Earthworks, a Washington-based advocacy group, sent a letter of complaint to the SEC, the New Jersey Bureau of Securities and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, detailing a flurry of stock trades and communication related to Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. in the days prior to recent decisions by Environmental Protection Agency that were beneficial to the mine.
Investment Bankers Charged in Global Insider Trading Scheme (The Wall Street Journal)
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have charged six bankers from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Moelis & Co., Centerview Partners LLC and others with a wide-ranging insider-trading scheme spanning Europe and in the U.S. that yielded tens of millions of dollars in allegedly illegal profits. Four separate indictments unsealed in recent days laid out several interconnected alleged conspiracies that the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office said represented a “global insider trading ring.”
Democrats Seek Insider Trading Probe After ‘Trump Chaos’ Article (NYDailyNews.com)
WASHINGTON Democratic lawmakers are increasingly demanding that U.S. authorities investigate allegations raised in a recent magazine article that traders might be using nonpublic government information to reap huge illegal profits, even as the exchange where the transactions purportedly took place called the story “patently false.”
Insider Trading: October 22, 2019 (BIV.com)
Insider: Tony Serafino, officer. Company: Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (TSX:IVN). Shares owned: 250,000. Trade date: October 10. Trade total: $820,150. Trade: Acquisition of 250,000 shares at prices ranging between $3.26 and $3.29 per share. Insider: Robert R. McEwen, 10% owner. Company: Great Bear Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:GBR). Shares owned: 142,679. Trade date: October 10. Trade total: $274,866. Trade: Sale of 36,600 shares at a price of $7.51 per share.
