Odey’s Hedge Fund Gains 29% on Sky and Randgold Deals (Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg) — Bearish hedge fund manager Crispin Odey is making money on his long bets. The London-based money manager, who has for years predicted a market crash and lost money betting on it, is one of the largest shareholders of Sky Plc and Randgold Resources Ltd, the two-biggest gainers of the STOXX Europe 600 Index on Monday. Randgold’s shares surged more than 6 percent after Canada’s Barrick Gold Corp. agreed to buy the goldminer, and Sky rose as much as 8.8 percent after Comcast Corp. won the auction for the U.K. broadcaster. Comcast won Sky with a bid of 17.28 pounds a share, a premium of 9 percent to Sky’s closing price on Friday.
Sears C.E.O. Lampert Sounds Alarm on Bankruptcy Risk (The New York Times)
NEW YORK — Time is running out for Sears, the retailer’s largest investor and chief executive warned on Monday. With the company facing a large loan payment due next month, Edward Lampert, who serves as both Sears’s C.E.O. and its most influential shareholder and lender, said it needed to drastically restructure its debts to avoid “alternatives.” Those alternatives include bankruptcy Mr. Lampert’s hedge fund, ESL Investments, has proposed a series of deals that would reduce the retailer’s $5.6 billion debt load. They include selling off many of its remaining stores and asking lenders to exchange their loans for equity stakes in the beleaguered company.
Luis Louro / shutterstock.com
Sirius XM’s $3.5 billion Pandora Deal could be a Windfall for George Soros and His Big Bet on Streaming Music (Business Insider UK)
Hedge fund billionaire George Soros disclosed a massive stake in Pandora last month, and his bet on streaming music appears to have already begun to pay off. Soros Fund Management, which bought 7.12 million shares, worth $56.1 million, during the second quarter, will receive 1.44 newly issued Sirius XM shares for each Pandora share it owns, at an implied price of $10.14 per share, as part of the satellite-radio company’s $3.5 billion, all-stock deal to buy its streaming competitor.
Ray Dalio, who predicted the financial crisis, outlines his scenario for the next recession — and draws some pointed parallels to the Great Depression (Business Insider)
Ray Dalio literally wrote the book on financial crises. So when he has something to say on the future of the market, investors of all shapes and sizes should listen. After all, it was Dalio who repeatedly cried foul on the mounting credit collapse more than a decade ago that triggered the worst economic meltdown in modern history — even if his cries fell mostly on deaf ears. Dalio — the founder and cochief investment officer of Bridgewater Associates — recently sat down with Business Insider CEO Henry Blodget to discuss his new book, which breaks down the anatomy of credit crises throughout history.
Activist Hedge Fund TCI Cuts Stake in London Stock Exchange (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Activist hedge fund TCI has cut its stake in London Stock Exchange Group Plc, less than a year after its push to oust the stock exchange’s chairman failed. TCI, founded by Chris Hohn and the third largest shareholder in LSE, has cut its stake to 1.79 percent from 5.05 percent, according to a regulatory filing on Monday. LSE shareholders voted by 79.07 to 20.93 percent at an extraordinary general meeting in December to defeat a resolution that aimed to ditch chairman Donald Brydon over the way he handled the departure of former CEO Xavier Rolet.
Two Sigma Founders Turn Up Leverage for Private Equity Fund Bets (Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg) — Billionaires David Siegel and John Overdeck are reviving a little known asset-backed security that boosts potential risks and rewards of investing in private equity funds. Siegel and Overdeck, co-chairmen of the $52 billion hedge fund Two Sigma, are using a collateralized fund obligation at Sightway Capital, which invests part of their fortune. The CFO raised $216 million through a securitized note sale last month, according to the company. The notes will be repaid by the cash flows from stakes in 32 private equity funds.
Hedge Funds Hit the Sky Jackpot as Comcast Lands Knockout Bid (Bloomberg)
Comcast Corp.’s knockout bid for British pay-TV company Sky Plc delivered a jackpot to hedge funds including Baupost Group, Elliott Capital Advisors LP and D. E. Shaw & Co. that had placed big bets on the broadcaster. The offer netted Sky’s top 10 independent shareholders a collective 730 million pounds ($959 million) over the weekend, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Seth Klarman’s Baupost, which a year ago disclosed that it held more than 1 percent in Sky, has made a 95 percent internal rate of return by doubling down on its investment, according to analysis by Bloomberg.
