Deepak Gulati is the former head of global equity proprietary trading at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and the founder and manager of Argentiere Capital, a Switzerland-based hedge fund. Gulati launched his hedge fund at the beginning of 2013, with over $1.0 billion in assets, according to HFM Weekly. The fund is engaged in volatility trades and bets on the rate of appreciation or decline of stocks, Bloomberg said. Moreover, Argentiere focuses on even-driven investment style, betting on the oscillations in the stock prices caused by various corporate announcements.
In its latest 13F filing, Argentiere revealed an equity portfolio worth $109.2 million, significantly up from $90.3 million held in the previous quarter. The filing also showed, that the fund’s equity portfolio is split primarily among Services and Basic Materials stocks. The largest holding in terms of value is represented by Foster Wheeler AG (NASDAQ:FWLT), in which the fund initiated a new stake during the first quarter of the year, and currently holds 1.36 million shares, valued at $44.14 million. This holding amasses more than 40% of Argentiere’s equity portfolio.
The stock of Foster Wheeler AG (NASDAQ:FWLT), a $3.3 billion company remained almost unchanged over the past couple of months. The company is engaged in engineering, construction and project management for oil & gas and electrical power industries. Several hedge funds we track reported holding shares of Foster Wheeler AG (NASDAQ:FWLT), the largest holding being in Kerr Neilson‘s Platinum Asset Management’s equity portfolio, which contains 9.94 million shares, valued at $322.36 million. Thomas Steyer‘s Farallon Capital also initiated a stake in the company during the first quarter, reporting ownership of 3.27 million shares in its latest 13F.
Another company, which represent a major stake in Argentiere’s equity portfolio is Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC), of which the fund owns 300,000 shares, worth $41.15 million, the stake amassing 38% of the equity portfolio. Earlier this year, Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC) agreed to merge with Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) in a stock transaction, following which Time Warner Cable shareholders will be able to receive 2.875 shares of Comcast for each Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC) share held. In this way, the value of the deal amounts to $158.8 per share, which clearly shows that Argentiere’s bet is a profitable one. D. E. Shaw‘s D E Shaw has also been bullish on Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC), upping its stake by 450% to 3.23 million shares held as of the end of March.
While the first two holdings altogether amass 78% of the Argentiere’s equity portfolio, the rest of the fund’s holdings represent small positions in terms of value. Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:FRX) comes in as the third largest holding, valued at $9.20 million, which contains 99,700 shares. Forest is another pre-merger company, which earlier this year entered into an agreement to be acquired by Actavis plc (NYSE:ACT) for $89.48 per share paid in cash and stock of Actavis. On the back of the announcement, the stock of Forest Laboratories surged by over 30%, while its year-to-date gain amounts to almost 60%. Carl Icahn also owns shares of Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:FRX), his stake containing 30.66 million shares, worth $2.83 billion.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) and Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HTZ) are two other companies that Deepak Gulati added to his fund’s equity portfolio during the first three months of the year. In Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), Argentier reported a $2.38 million position, which amasses 50,000 shares, and it also reported holding 50,000 shares of Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HTZ), with an aggregate value of around $2.0 million. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was also a new position in Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway equity portfolio, the holding amassing 11.02 million shares, valued at $524.35 million. In Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HTZ), a hedge fund that reported a new significant stake is Larry Robbins‘ Glenview Capital, which owns 13.26 million shares, worth $353.34 million.
Disclosure: none
