James Dondero’s No-Holds-Barred Highland Embraced Bankruptcy (Bloomberg)
James Dondero doesn’t back down. That’s what helped him build Highland Capital Management into a credit giant that at one point oversaw $40 billion. But it has also embroiled the business in numerous lawsuits and the firm has dwindled to a quarter of that size. That approach was on display on Wednesday when a Highland unit filed for bankruptcy, faced with a claim stemming from a fund that it shuttered during the 2008 financial crisis. The decision confounded some of the fund’s investors — known as the Redeemer Committee — who in the prior days had anticipated agreeing on a settlement after the long-running dispute, people familiar with the matter said.
Exclusive: Lampert Helps Bankroll Sears as Woes Persist After Bankruptcy – Sources (Reuters)
(Reuters) – U.S. retailer Sears has borrowed about $150 million from lenders, including its billionaire owner Eddie Lampert, as it racks up losses less than a year after it emerged from bankruptcy protection, people familiar with the matter said. The new financing will help stock Sears’ store shelves for the holiday shopping season, as it struggles to become profitable. Lampert is no stranger to bankrolling Sears, having extended loans through his hedge fund ESL Investments Inc to the department store chain over the past decade until its financial collapse last year.
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SkyBridge Capital Board Member Retires (Hedge Week)
Charles A Hurty, a board member of SkyBridge Capital’s Multi-Advisor Hedge Fund Portfolios, has retired after 17 years as a director. Hurty is a former partner at KPMG and served as a trustee and director at iShares from 2005-2015. During his time serving on the Skybridge Series G Board, he oversaw the growth of assets under management from USD40 million to approximately USD5 billion as of 2019.
Billionaire Rokos Tightens Reins at $9 Billion Hedge Fund (Bloomberg)
Billionaire Chris Rokos is back to calling all the shots at his $9 billion eponymous hedge fund firm. London-based Rokos Capital Management is merging the portfolios previously run by individual traders into a single pool of money, allowing it to place bigger bets, Alan Kilkenny, a spokesman for the firm, said in an emailed statement.
$8.8 billion ExodusPoint’s Head of Data Strategy is Out, but the Hedge Fund’s 15-person Data Team has No Plans to Slow Down (Business Insider)
ExodusPoint lost its head of data strategy Chris Petrescu last week, sources tell Business Insider. Petrescu was in charge of finding alternative datasets for the hedge fund’s portfolio managers to use, and was a frequent panelist at data conferences. Exodus, Michael Gelband‘s $8.8 billion hedge fund, still has a 15-person data team, a person close to the firm tells Business Insider.
AT&T, Elliott in Talks After Activist Campaign Launched: Sources (Reuters)
NEW YORK (Reuters) – AT&T (T.N) and Elliott Management are talking about issues the activist hedge fund raised last month when it pushed for change at the U.S. telecommunications and media conglomerate, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Elliott is pressing the telecommunications giant to cut costs, make management changes and scale back expansion aspirations in one of its most ambitious investor campaigns to date.
Should You Buy These Shares (Including This Neil Woodford Favorite) Before Next Week? (Forbes)
These UK shares are scheduled to update the market in the coming days. Should you think about loading up on them today? Woodford Chopped Down: When it rains it pours, as legendary British fund manager Neil Woodford has found in recent months. After suspending withdrawals from his flagship Woodford Equity Income fund over the summer, prompted by an investor exodus in response to the poor performance of the fund, administrators Link Fund Solutions announced on Tuesday that they were chucking Woodford out of the fund and closing it down.
