Starboard Set to Win Eight Board Seats at GCP Applied Technologies-Sources (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Hedge fund Starboard Value LP is close to having eight directors elected to the board of GCP Applied Technologies Inc (GCP.N) at the chemical company’s annual meeting, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. While not all votes have been cast before Thursday’s annual meeting and the result could change, preliminary figures indicate Starboard will see its entire slate elected by GCP shareholders, the sources said.
Silver Lake Buys Stake in Blank-Check Company, Renews Push for Global Blue Deal (The Wall Street Journal)
Technology investor Silver Lake has continued its recent acquisition spree with an unusual deal: a stake in Far Point Acquisition Corp., a public blank-check company tied to hedge-fund executive Daniel Loeb. Silver Lake has built up a 12% stake in Far Point by investing around $100 million in the listed company this month through an affiliated fund, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange filing.
Bill Ackman Exits Investments in Berkshire Hathaway, Blackstone (Bloomberg)
Activist investor Bill Ackman said he has exited his investments in Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. as well as his recently acquired investments in the Blackstone Group Inc. and Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management sold off Blackstone and Park Hotels because it wasn’t able to build large enough positions at attractive prices before markets rebounded, he said in a conference call Wednesday.
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Trading Through the Turmoil: Argonaut Capital Looks to Maintain Momentum Post-Lockdown (Hedge Week)
After generating double-digit returns during the coronavirus-fuelled market downturn with short alpha bets, Argonaut Capital Partners is now building key positions in cyclical industries to take advantage of the post-lockdown recovery. The London-based equities-focused firm’s core long/short hedge fund strategy, the Argonaut Absolute Return Fund, advanced an eye-catching 23 per cent in the first quarter, trading a mix of UK, US and European equities.
Hedge Funds Pay Up in U.S. to Poach From Rivals Stung by Turmoil (Bloomberg)
Izzy Englander sent his Millennium Management staff to work from home in early March. Since then, about 100 people have quietly joined the $42 billion hedge fund. He’s not the only one snapping up talent as a deadly pandemic roils markets and upends offices. Dmitry Balyasny has recruited 12 portfolio managers at his eponymous firm this year, and Michael Gelband’s ExodusPoint Capital has added 20, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Across the industry, hiring by multimanager shops is on pace with last year’s robust level.
Tice Betting Virus Will Boost Gold, Silver (HFAlert.com)
Prominent stock market bear David Tice has lined up a bullish bet on precious metals companies via his latest hedge fund. Tice this month partnered with precious metals specialist Garic Moran to form Moran Tice Capital, which will invest on the premise that the coronavirus pandemic will lead to a prolonged global recession and higher inflation. The new entity, which has begun trading, taps a number of investors from TG Moran Capital, a hedge fund firm Moran had been running since 2016. Moran handles the bulk of the firm’s trading from Atlanta, while Tice, based in Dallas, heads marketing.
Billionaire Ray Dalio is One of the World’s Richest Hedge Fund Managers. Here are His Best Quotes on Everything from the Markets to Meditation. (Business Insider)
Legendary hedge fund investor Ray Dalio is renowned figure in the world of finance, but is equally famous for his views on life, investing, and much more. The founder of Bridgewater Associates made a whopping $2 billion last year, the Institutional Investor’s annual Rich List, shows. Dalio recently said the American dream “does not exist” right now and that if leaders don’t act the whole economic system of capitalism could collapse during the coronavirus-induced recession.
Wednesday 5/27 Insider Buying Report: NREF, TJX (Nasdaq.com)
At NexPoint Real Estate Finance, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Friday, President James D. Dondero purchased 12,900 shares of NREF, at a cost of $14.16 each, for a total investment of $182,637. So far Dondero is in the green, up about 20.0% on their buy based on today’s trading high of $16.99. NexPoint Real Estate Finance is trading up about 1.3% on the day Wednesday. Before this latest buy, Dondero purchased NREF on 3 other occasions during the past twelve months, for a total investment of $1.24M at an average of $11.88 per share. And also on Friday, Director Rosemary T. Berkery purchased $160,432 worth of TJX Companies, purchasing 3,000 shares at a cost of $53.48 a piece. TJX Companies is trading down about 0.2% on the day Wednesday. Berkery was up about 6.0% on the purchase at the high point of today’s trading session, with TJX trading as high as $56.68 at last check today.
A Director at Repligen (NASDAQ: RGEN) is Buying Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, a Director at Repligen (RGEN), Nicolas Barthelemy, bought shares of RGEN for $142.8K. Following Nicolas Barthelemy’s last RGEN Buy transaction on August 31, 2018, the stock climbed by 78.5%. Following this transaction Nicolas Barthelemy’s holding in the company was increased by 59.18% to a total of $355.2K.
Bausch Health Inc (BHC) CHAIRMAN & CEO Joseph C Papa Bought $699,300 of Shares (Guru Focus)
CHAIRMAN & CEO of Bausch Health Inc., Joseph C Papa, bought 30,000 shares of BHC on 09/13/2019 at an average price of $23.31 a share. The total cost of this purchase was $699,300. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc is a specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company which develops, manufactures, and markets a range of generic and branded generic pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter products and medical devices.
Ex-Citi Banker’s Alleged Ties at Issue in Insider Trading Appeal (AFR.com)
When prosecutors knew about possible links between a former Citigroup banker and a wealthy businessman will be one of the issues reviewed during an appeal in the UK’s highest-profile insider trading case. Walid Choucair, a day trader, and Fabiana Abdel-Malek, a former UBS Group AG compliance officer, won the right to appeal on grounds that a potentially important alternative source of information on a series of M&A deals may have been wrongly withheld, according to people familiar with the matter. It’s one of seven grounds that were accepted for argument by the Court of Appeal.
COVID-19 Insider Trading Update (Fox26MedFord.com)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC) – The Justice Department closed insider trading investigations into three senators who sold off stocks following early briefings on the coronavirus. Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler of Georgia was one of four senators the DOJ focused on in connection with stock sales made after early briefings on the virus. She said she is not involved in such decisions, which are made by a third party. Oklahoma Republican James Inhofe, who was also a focus of the probe, says he too is not involved in his investment decisions. California Democrat Dianne Feinstein’s husband made the stock trade in question. She said her assets are in a blind trust.
Private Equity Firm Ares Management LLC Charged With Compliance Failures (HedgeCo.Net)
(HedgeCo.Net) Ares Management LLC, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm and registered investment adviser, has agreed to pay one million dollars to settle charges that it failed to implement and enforce policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent the misuse of material nonpublic information. The SEC’s order finds that, in 2016, Ares invested several hundred million dollars in a public company through a loan and equity investment that allowed Ares to appoint a senior employee to the company’s board. The order finds that Ares’s compliance policies failed to account for the special circumstances presented by having an employee serve on the portfolio company’s board while that employee continued to participate in trading decisions regarding the portfolio company.
