Nielsen’s New Biggest Shareholder Bought Up Stock, Opposes Deal (Barron’s)
Nielsen Holdings has a new largest shareholder, a hedge fund that opposes a recent acquisition offer for the audience-ratings firm. WindAcre Partnership paid $1.5 billion from April 6 through April 13 for a total of 31.6 million Nielsen shares (ticker: NLSN), at an average price of $27.47, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. WindAcre now owns 91 million Nielsen shares, giving it a stake of 25.3%. The purchases make WindAcre the largest holder of Nielsen shares, topping Vanguard Group, which has 44.6 million,…
Citadel’s Griffin Rises as Top GOP Donor, Urges Business Leaders to Join Him (The Wall Street Journal)
CHICAGO — Hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin is raising his total investment in this year’s midterm congressional elections to roughly $40 million and calling on American business leaders to become more involved in politics. Day to day, the Citadel founder is either the first- or second-biggest individual donor to outside spending groups on the Republican side for federal races this election cycle, according to rankings by the nonpartisan OpenSecrets watchdog group, making him a top force behind the GOP’s drive to retake Congress in November.
Newspaper Publisher Lee Faces Renewed Pressure from Hedge Funds (MarketWatch)
OMAHA, Neb. — Newspaper publisher Lee Enterprises is facing renewed pressure from a hedge fund to speed up its transition to digital publishing and consider adding new digital-savvy leaders to its board after successfully fighting off a hostile takeover from a different hedge fund. Lee’s LEE, -1.88% largest shareholder, Cannell Capital, this week disclosed buying nearly 20,000 more of the company’s shares, giving it a 9.1% stake. The fund’s head, Carlo Cannell, said he thinks Lee needs new board members and executives with experience running a digital publishing business.
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Putin, Oligarchs May Have Stolen $1 Trillion From Russian People, Browder Says (International Business Times)
Bill Browder, a political activist and former hedge fund manager, on Tuesday suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin and some Russian oligarchs have stolen a significant amount of money from the people of Russia. Speaking at a Manhattan event in celebration of the publication of his book “Freezing Order,” Browder said he believes Putin and Russian oligarchs stole at least $1 trillion dollars from the people after the Soviet Union fell.
Las Olas Venture Capital Closes $50M Fund II (Finsmes.com)
Las OIas Venture Capital, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based venture capital firm, raised $50M for its latest fund to continue its strategy of seed-stage B2B software investments. With this new fund, LOVC continues its thesis of seed-stage financings for B2B software companies, with a particular focus on companies based in emerging technology markets such as the southeastern US.
Investcorp in Talks to Buy AC Milan for €1B – Report (Tele Trader)
Investcorp is holding exclusive talks to acquire Italian football club AC Milan from US hedge fund Elliott Management, a deal that could be valued at more than €1 billion, as reported by Financial Times on Friday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. According to sources, Investcorp’s Executive Chair, Mohammed Alardhi, and Hazem Ben-Gacem, Co-Chief Executive, had been in discussions with senior hedge fund executives since April. Elliott chose to enter exclusive talks with Investcorp in recent days, and according to the report, the exclusive period would expire in two weeks.
Hedge Funds that Took Abramovich’s Cash in a Fix (The Star)
NEW YORK: When Concord Management came calling with the promise of checks for as much as US$100mil (RM422mil), more than 100 hedge funds and private equity firms jumped at the offer. Most of the US$6bil (RM25.3bil) behind Concord belongs to Roman Abramovich, who earlier this month was sanctioned by the European Union and the United Kingdom as part of sweeping penalties against billionaires believed to be close to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Thursday 4/14 Insider Buying Report: PLX, HCP (Nasdaq.com)
On Monday, Protalix BioTherapeutics’ CEO, Dror Bashan, made a $102,000 purchase of PLX, buying 68,000 shares at a cost of $1.50 each. Bargain hunters can buy PLX at a price even lower than Bashan did, with shares trading as low as $1.33 at last check today which is 11.3% below Bashan’s purchase price. Protalix BioTherapeutics is trading up about 0.8% on the day Thursday. And at Hashicorp, there was insider buying on Monday, by Director Glenn Solomon who purchased 1,825 shares at a cost of $49.78 each, for a trade totaling $90,848. Hashicorp is trading down about 2.9% on the day Thursday. Solomon was up about 16.8% on the buy at the high point of today’s trading session, with HCP trading as high as $58.12 in trading on Thursday.
SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Weiss Law Investigates Vidler Water Resources, Inc. (PRNewswire)
NEW YORK, April 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Weiss Law is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the board of directors of Vidler Water Resources, Inc. (“Vidler” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: VWTR), in connection with the proposed acquisition of the Company by D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE: DHI), via a tender offer. Under the terms of the merger agreement, the Company’s shareholders will receive $15.75 in cash for each share of Vidler common stock owned. The transaction is valued at approximately $291 million.
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:BAM) Major Shareholder Sells $190,370.25 in Stock (DefenseWorld.net)
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:BAM) (TSE:BAM.A) major shareholder Brookfield Asset Management In sold 5,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.13, for a total transaction of $190,370.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.
Alexandra Shapiro’s New Book “Presumed Guilty” Brings Insider Trading Cases To Life (Forbes)
“Operation Perfect Hedge,” the crackdown on insider trading headed by then-US Attorney Preet Bharara, represented the biggest push to hold someone, anyone, accountable for the financial crisis of 2008. However misguided that prosecution may have been, it provided a look into hedge funds and trading strategies that made multi-millionaires and billionaires. The indictments and trials of those working at these hedge funds made for great drama but behind these cases were real people making decisions to prosecute, to plead guilty or to go to trial. A new fictional account of one such prosecution reads like true crime.
