Brevan Howard Hunt for US-Based Chair Sparks Talk of Float for $23bn Hedge Fund (Sky News)
Brevan Howard, one of the City’s best-known hedge fund managers, has kicked off a search for a US-based chairman, sparking industry talk of a potential stock market listing for the $23bn asset manager. Sky News has learnt that Brevan Howard, which was jointly founded by the billionaire Conservative Party donor Alan Howard, is working to identify a new figurehead for the firm.
Family Video owner following Ken Griffin out of state and moving his suburban Chicago company to the Sun Belt (Chicago Tribune)
Ken Griffin isn’t the only longtime Chicago-area business owner packing up his company for the Sun Belt. Keith Hoogland, whose Family Video chain outlasted Blockbuster before closing for good last year, is pulling up stakes and moving the diversified Glenview-based parent company, Highland Ventures, to Nashville in September. The family-owned business, which has turned its 700-plus former video stores into a sprawling, multistate real estate company and the largest franchise owner for Marco’s Pizza, will head south with dozens of employees and almost as many Hooglands in search of greener corporate pastures.
Crypto Exchange Blockchain.com Faces $270M Hit on Loans to Three Arrows Capital (CoinDesk)
Cryptocurrency exchange Blockchain.com stands to lose $270 million from lending to Three Arrows Capital, the over-leveraged hedge fund now the subject to a liquidation order in the British Virgin Islands. “Three Arrows is rapidly becoming insolvent and the default impact is approximately $270 million worth of cryptocurrency and U.S. dollar loans from Blockchain.com,” Peter Smith, Blockchain.com’s CEO, wrote in a letter to shareholders, reviewed by CoinDesk.
Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com
Form D Friday: Kyle Bass-Led Environmental Sustainability Firm Raises $114 Million (BizJournals.com)
Conservation Equity Management: $114 million: An environmental sustainability-focused private equity firm led by Kyle Bass and conservationist Terry Anderson has raised more than $114 million in a fund titled “Conservation Equity Fund I LP,” per an SEC filing. Conservation Equity Management, based in Dallas and Nacogdoches, was officially launched in February to acquire rural land and “raise the value of ecosystems, mitigate environmental impacts, create biodiversity, and promote permanent conservation,” per a release earlier this year. Bass leads hedge fund Hayman Capital, and rose to prominence for betting against subprime mortgages prior to the financial crisis of 2008. Bass said in a prepared statement in February that investors were increasingly prioritizing environmental balance in their portfolios.
Coast Capital Engaged Fund Up 3.3% in Q2 Despite Market Turmoil (Hedge Week)
The Coast Capital Engaged Fund advanced 3.3% in Q2 despite market turmoil that saw a 16% drop in both the S&P 500 and MSCI Europe indices. Year to date, the event-drive fund has appreciated by 15.0% versus a 22.3% decline for MSCI Europe index. And despite some managers including Ray Dalio, the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, betting against European stocks, Coast Capital manager James Rasteh has found value in continental companies.
Activist Investor Elliott Building Stake in Swedish Match – Bloomberg News (Reuters)
July 7 (Reuters) – Activist investment firm Elliott Investment Management is building a stake in tobacco and nicotine products maker Swedish Match AB (SWMA.ST), Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Elliott plans to oppose the nearly $16 billion buyout deal for Swedish Match made by Philip Morris (PM.N) under its current terms, the report said.
Blackstone Invests $400m in Carbon Offset Commodity Exchange Xpansiv (Opalesque.com)
US private equity giant Blackstone said its energy-focused private equity business Blackstone Energy Partners will invest $400 million in Xpansiv Ltd., a platform that lets investors trade assets tied to the energy transition such as carbon offsets and renewable-energy credits. The capital commitment by Blackstone Energy Partners will help Xpansiv to progress its plan to expand organically and through acquisitions, said a press release from the energy investor. Xpansiv, a global marketplace for ESG -inclusive commodities, connects buyers and sellers of environmental commodities and provides market data for voluntary carbon offsets, renewable energy credits, and low-carbon fuels.
John Paulson Hid Billions in Secret Trusts, Wife Claims (Bloomberg)
John Paulson was accused by his wife Jenica of secretly creating a series of trusts to hide billions of dollars in assets from her in their divorce. Jenica Paulson, 50, sued her husband Thursday in state court in Manhattan, claiming he and “a cadre of hand-picked agents and advisors” worked to establish three irrevocable trusts to make sure she didn’t get her “fair and equitable share of assets.” She is asking for at least $1 billion in damages from her “astronomically wealthy” husband.
Energy is Still ‘King of the Jungle’ for Next Two Years, Fund Manager Says (CNBC)
David Neuhauser, founder and chief investment officer at Chicago-based hedge fund Livermore Partners, says energy is a sector that “screams value” while the rest of the market is still “in a bit of a malaise.”
Hedge Fund Exec Jeffrey Feinberg Lists Resort-Like Mansion for $48 Million (Market Realist)
Although Jeffrey Feinberg’s net worth isn’t known, the hedge-fund executive clearly had enough financial leverage to purchase the $44 million Los Angeles house he’s now flipping for $48 million. Feinberg is a former managing director of Soros Fund Management, which George Soros founded as a hedge fund before it became a family office, according to Dirt. Feinberg – who previously opened and closed his own investment firm, the $1 billion JLF Investment Fund – now runs the limited partnership Feinberg Investments for personal investments. Also, he reportedly earned big money on Bitcoin.
How Bridgewater’s Flagship Hedge Fund Beat the Bear Market in the First Half of 2022 When Most Others Tanked (SportsGrindEntertainment.com)
King of the bears? Ray Dalio is the uncrowned king of the hedge fund world, and he’s living up to the title in 2022’s bear market. The 72-year-old New York native founded Bridgewater Associates in 1975 as an institutional investment advisory service, dishing out economic advice to corporate clients like McDonald’s and Nabisco. His firm turned to money management in the late 1980s, and it hasn’t looked back since.
$698 Million Bet On This Energy Stock? 3 Stocks Insiders are Buying (Benzinga)
FedEx: The Trade: FedEx Corporation (FDX) Director Vincenzo J Vena acquired a total of 900 shares at an average price of $230.05. To acquire these shares, it cost around $207.04 thousand. Alta Equipment Group: The Trade: Alta Equipment Group Inc. (ALTG) 10% owner Bryant Riley bought a total of 9,211 shares at an average price of $8.82. To acquire these shares, it cost around $81.24 thousand.
Ex-Mazor VP Faces SEC Suit on Medtronic Deal Insider Trading (Bloomberg Law)
A former Mazor Robotics Ltd. executive and two others were sued by the SEC for allegedly trading on confidential information ahead of the company’s 2018 acquisition by Medtronic PLC. Doron Tavlin, who worked as Mazor’s vice president of business development between 2017 and 2019, passed information about the merger to a friend, Afshin Farahan, according to a civil complaintfiled Wednesday. Farahan, in turn, tipped his friend, David Gantman, the Securities and Exchange Comission said.
