Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Bill Ackman, Jana Partners, BlueCrest Capital Management, Iqvia Holdings Inc (IQV), Twelve Seas Investment Company (TWLVU), ABIOMED, Inc. (ABMD), and More

Bill Ackman Makes More Layoffs at His Pershing Square Hedge Fund (CNBC)
Billionaire hedge fund manager William Ackman, whose investment assets have shrunk by more than half in the last three years, has made a second round of staff cuts and laid off three investor relations team members, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The prominent manager cut one investor relations executive and two investor services executives at his New York-based Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund last week, the sources said. These layoffs come after Ackman cut his staff by 10 people in January, shrinking the firm to 46 employees from 56. A spokesman for the firm declined to comment.

Activist Jana Is Set to Make $144 Million on Pinnacle Foods Deal
(Bloomberg)
Activist investor Jana Partners and its affiliates stand to make about $144 million on their investment in Pinnacle Foods Inc., after the packaged-food company agreed to be acquired by Conagra Brands Inc. for $8.1 billion. The New York-based hedge fund, run by Barry Rosenstein, disclosed a 9.5 percent position in Parsippany, New Jersey-based Pinnacle on April 19. Jana and its partners, which started building a position in February, acquired their holdings for about $627.4 million — or 11.34 million shares at about $55.33 apiece on average — according to a regulatory filing.

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Platt’s BlueCrest Opens Office in Miami, a Tax Haven (Bloomberg)
BlueCrest Capital Management, the investment firm led by billionaire Michael Platt, has opened an office in Miami that’s initially staffed by six portfolio managers, according to people familiar with the matter. BlueCrest, which is based in Jersey, Channel Islands, is among the latest money managers to open an office in Florida, a state with no income tax and low property levies. The personal preferences of the six BlueCrest managers prompted their relocation to Miami, the people said.

Billionaire Backs Personal Injury Lawsuit Funding Firm (ClaimsJournal.com)
The billionaire George Soros has found a new way to make money from personal injury lawsuits. Soros Fund Management is pushing into a branch of litigation finance that few hedge funds have entered. His family office is bankrolling a company that’s creating investment portfolios out of lawsuits, according to a May regulatory filing. The development is the latest twist on the litigation funding market, which has drawn criticism for monetizing and encouraging the lawsuit culture in the U.S. The firm Soros is backing, Mighty Group, bundles cash advances that small shops extend to plaintiffs in personal injury suits in return for a cut of future settlements.