Activist Blackwells Sues GNL, Necessity Retail Over Board Dispute (Reuters)
Blackwells Capital, a hedge fund seeking to replace some of the board directors at Global Net Lease Inc and Necessity Retail REIT Inc, told Reuters on Monday it has filed a lawsuit against the real estate companies after being blocked from putting its own board nominees forward. Blackwells wants both companies to replace AR Global, the external manager of their properties, over what it argues are high costs and poor performance. It wants to nominate two directors at each company to ratchet up the pressure on them. The lawsuit filed on Monday in Maryland state court accuses the real estate investment trusts (REITs) of using recently amended bylaws to block Blackwells’ nominees and reserve the board seats for AR Global.
Toronto Hedge Fund Vivid Capital Surges 39% on Lithium Bets (Bloomberg)
Vivid Capital Management Inc., a small Canadian hedge fund, has returned 39% this year through November with bets on the lithium sector. Toronto-based Vivid, a relatively young firm that manages less than C$50 million ($36.5 million), runs a single fund with a primary focus on energy-transition investments.
Hedge Fund Bets Against Hong Kong’s Dollar Peg Have a Long History—and Little Success (The Wall Street Journal)
When Bill Ackman revealed last month that he was betting the Hong Kong dollar’s peg to the greenback would break, he became the latest in a long line of speculators who have made similar wagers. Nobody has hit the jackpot. Hedge funds have made bets against the longstanding currency peg going back to the Asian financial crisis. High-profile fund managers including Crispin Odey and Kyle Bass are among those who have previously taken positions that the peg couldn’t last. Mr. Ackman’s fund, Pershing Square Capital Management, even once made a bet from the opposite side more than a decade ago. Boaz Weinstein, the founder of Saba Capital Management LP, is betting alongside him this time.
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Everyone Wants to be an Activist Investor These Days. Insiders Like Carl Icahn Lay Out Why It’s Not as Easy as it Looks (Business Insider)
Carl Icahn had a textbook strategy for the Nevada-based energy utility Southwest Gas Holdings. The legendary activist investor purchased almost 5% of the company’s shares in late 2021 and publicly assailed its leadership, winning four of its 11 board seats, the ouster of its chief executive, and an internal review that considered a sale of the utility.
AQR Turns to UK Judge in LME Battle (Hedge Week)
AQR Capital Management is among a group of hedge funds and other traders who have asked a British judge to force the London Metal Exchange (LME) to hand over phone transcripts and meeting notes about its decision to cancel nickel trades in March of this year, according to a report by Reuters. The LME cancelled trades worth billions of dollars on the back of a spike in the price of nickel which it said led to “significant losses” for market participants. The report cites Paul McGrath, a lawyer for AQR-led group which also includes Winton Capital Management, Capstone Investment Advisors, Flow Traders and DRW Commodities, as saying it is difficult to understand why his clients can not have access to documents that would further explain the LME’s actions.
