Illumina CEO DeSouza Resigns After Proxy Battle with Icahn (Reuters)
Illumina (ILMN.O) CEO Francis deSouza stepped down on Sunday, marking a victory for activist investor Carl Icahn and heightening expectations that it could unwind its controversial $7.1 billion acquisition of Grail (GRAL.O). The gene-sequencing machine maker had repurchased Grail, a cancer diagnostic test maker, in 2021 despite opposition from U.S. and European antitrust regulators – a decision that prompted Icahn to pursue a proxy fight at Illumina, arguing it should be divested as it had cost investors billions of dollars.
‘Buffett Effect’ Is Making Occidental’s Stock Trade Like Exxon’s (Bloomberg)
Warren Buffett is shielding Occidental Petroleum Corp. from the worst of the drubbing hitting oil and gas producers and making the stock trade like fossil fuel firms more than five times it size. For much of the past year, the billionaire investor’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has been snapping up Occidental stock whenever it falls under $60, a level shares closed below on Friday as crude prices slid. Buffett’s firm is the largest stockholder with nearly 222 million shares, almost a 25% stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg — and regulatory permission to buy more.
The Soros Era Is Over on Wall Street (The Wall Street Journal)
George Soros has handed the reins of his empire to his 37-year-old son, Alex, marking the end of an era on Wall Street. For decades, Soros’s moves were scrutinized, followed and sometimes even imagined by rival traders. Soros, who ran the Quantum Fund, one of the most successful hedge funds in history, traded stocks, bonds and currencies all over the world, becoming a pioneering ‘global macro’ investor. He built a fortune in the 1970 and 1980s making big bets that anticipated economic and political shifts. Mere hints of what Soros might be doing affected global markets, even when they proved false. Governments criticized him as a speculator hurting economies.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Hudson Bay Expands $20 Billion Hedge Fund Business to Dubai (Gulf News)
Hudson Bay Capital Management is opening an office in Dubai, joining the likes of Balyasny Asset Management and ExodusPoint Capital Management in expanding to the Middle Eastern business hub. The Greenwich-based multi-strategy investment firm, which manages about $20 billion, has hired Chiara Chabanne as senior executive officer and its first portfolio manager in the region, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. She will start on Monday and will be supported by Antoine Chabanne, the person said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.
US Hedge Fund Anticipates a Billion Plus for Sale of Travelodge (HospitalityAndCateringNews.com)
London’s money markets are predicting Travelodge will go on the market soon with the price of the budget hotel chain costing the acquirer circa one billion pounds. Travelodge was acquired in 2012 by US hedge fund GoldenTree that is now mulling a sale, the price tag being reported in part being set by a post-pandemic boom in demand. Travelodge is benefiting from an increased volume of cost conscious holidaymakers fuelling a boom in UK holidays. The hotel group also cites increased demand from business travellers looking for lower cost stays.
