Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: John Paulson, Xerox Corp (XRX), One Group Hospitality Inc (STKS), Yext Inc (YEXT), and More

Billionaire Paulson Attracts Chinese Suitor for Steinway (Bloomberg)
Steinway Musical Instruments Inc., the legendary piano maker controlled by U.S. hedge fund billionaire John Paulson, has attracted takeover interest from China Poly Group Corp., people familiar with the matter said. The state-owned conglomerate is holding preliminary talks about a purchase of Steinway, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. The company, whose iconic pianos have been used by virtuosos such as Lang Lang, could fetch about $1 billion in a sale, the people said.

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US Hedge Fund Assets Reach $2.58 Trillion (AI-CIO.com)
US hedge fund assets grew almost 8% last year, to $2.57 trillion, and inched up to $2.58 trillion in this year’s first quarter, Preqin researchers said. The increase last year came amid very strong performance for hedge funds, as almost all markets—and equities in particular-enjoyed strong returns. The first quarter of 2018, when assets moved up just 0.4%, proved more challenging, as the US stock market had a 10% correction during the winter. Nonetheless, Preqin has an optimistic view for this year as a whole. “Indications for 2018 are for sustained growth despite lackluster performance,” the firm said in a statement.

Hedge Fund’s Italian Raid Leaves Us In the Dark (Bloomberg)
Ten years on from the financial crisis, bank balance sheets haven’t become any simpler to digest for the average investor. Finance firms are big and leveraged; regulations have just become new instruments of complexity. That might suggest a potential windfall for any brainy number-cruncher who’s bored enough to spend a year looking for inconsistencies in the industry’s accounts. London hedge fund Caius Capital certainly thinks so. It carved out a niche for itself in 2017 when it accused Britain’s mighty West Bromwich Building Society – 750 employees, 9 million pounds ($12 million) in profit – of wrongly classifying debt instruments as core capital.