U.S. Hedge Fund Hound Partners Discloses 5 percent Stake in UK’s Metro Bank (Reuters)
(Reuters) – U.S. hedge fund Hound Partners disclosed a 5.05 percent stake in British lender Metro Bank Plc, a filing showed on Friday. The stake would make Hound Partners Metro Bank’s sixth biggest investor, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. Metro Bank last month announced a sharp rise in exposure to higher-risk mortgages and said profits would be hit by slowing growth, raising fears of a shareholder cash call.
Leon Cooperman Is an Enquirer Investor, But He’s Also a Bezos Fan (Bloomberg)
Billionaire hedge fund manager Leon Cooperman has a stake in the publisher of the National Enquirer, but he’s not taking sides in the tabloid’s battle with the “fabulous” Jeff Bezos. The Amazon.com Inc. founder levied an explosive allegation against Enquirer owner American Media Inc. on Thursday, writing in a blog post that the company threatened to publish salacious photos of Bezos unless he called off an investigation into whether an expose in the Enquirer about his extramarital affair was politically motivated. Asked to comment, Cooperman begged off — offering warm words for Bezos in a coda.
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Bankruptcy Judge Will Approve Eddie Lampert Purchase of Sears (The Wall Street Journal)
Bankruptcy Judge Will Approve Eddie Lampert Purchase of Sears. A bankruptcy judge said Thursday he would approve Edward Lampert’s bid to purchase Sears Holdings Corp., a decision that will keep the doors open at more than 400 stores and see 45,000 people keep their jobs.
Hedge Fund Founder Jeff Tannenbaum’s Next Act Will Be Green (Bloomberg)
Jeff Tannenbaum made his fortune through investing; now he’s investing that fortune. He’s chairman emeritus at New York-based Fir Tree Capital Management LP, the hedge fund he founded in 1994, though he began handing over investment responsibilities in the early 2000s and had ceased day-to-day portfolio management by the middle of the decade. In recent years the firm has struggled with staff departures, soured investments, and a drop in assets of more than half from a peak of $13 billion in 2015.
Look Inside Hedge Fund Billionaire Steve Cohen’s $33 million Manhattan Mansion (CNBC)
Billionaire Steve Cohen‘s 9,600-square-foot Manhattan triplex (yes, you read that right), is for sale and it’s listed for $33.5 million. The home, built in 1905, is located in the Abingdon, a luxe building described in the listing as “the most coveted prewar condo conversion in the heart of West Village.” Dubbed the Abingdon Mansion, Cohen’s condo was custom designed for “entertaining and showcasing important art.”
Someone Is About To Get Torched On Yelp (DealBreaker)
If you’re wondering what’s behind the particularly blistering review of investment bank Evercore by Yelp user “SQNhedge,” be advised: Yelp, the review site for restaurants and local businesses, has hired Evercore to help defend the company against an activist investor, who recently called for a board shake-up and potential sale, according to people familiar with the matter. Hedge fund manager SQN, which owns 4 percent of Yelp shares, released a presentation on Jan. 16, about the company’s “significant underperformance,” and said that based on its own research “an immediate sale to a private equity firm could yield a $47 to $50 stock price.” The shares are currently trading at $37.59.
Funds That Can Help You Get Invested Now–And Stay Invested In Volatile Markets (Forbes)
Do you have cash that really should be invested? Maybe you made an annual contribution to your IRA and never invested it, or you took your required minimum distribution at the end of 2018 and left it in cash because markets were so volatile. Or perhaps you panicked in December and sold some of your stock funds, and now you’re regretting it. While a money-market fund may be a good place to park cash you plan to spend in the next few months, it is not a good place for your long-term money.
SEC Charges Founder of Online Gaming Company Defrauding Investors (HedgeCo.net)
(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Robert Alexander with fraudulently raising approximately $9 million from more than 50 individuals by selling investments in Kizzang LLC, a purported online gaming business. According to the SEC’s complaint, among other misrepresentations, Alexander told investors that they would make a minimum of 10 times their investment, Alexander had personally invested millions of dollars in Kizzang, Alexander had made a $50 million charitable donation, and that he had led the creation of a prominent video game. Rather than using investor funds for Kizzang’s business, Alexander stole at least $1.3 million, including spending more than $450,000 on gambling sprees.
