Billionaire Private-Equity Firm Chief Lasry Says He’s Waiting for People to Get Nervous (Market Watch)
Marc Lasry, the co-founder, chairman and chief executive of private-equity firm and hedge-fund investor Avenue Capital, has seen plenty of success in the sports world, as the Milwaukee Bucks he co-owns are the defending National Basketball Association champions, and have the second-best odds to repeat. But while he has reason to be optimistic about hoops, he says he’s more downbeat on financial markets.
Tiger Cubs Are Off to a Rocky Start in 2022 (Institutional Investor)
Maverick, Light Street, and other Tiger descendants reported sharp first-quarter losses. Lee Ainslie III’s Maverick Capital is the latest tech fund and Tiger Cub to report a sharp loss in March and the first quarter. Its long-short Maverick Fund suffered a roughly 13 percent decline in March and was down nearly 23 percent for the quarter, according to a hedge fund database.
A Hedge Fund that Made $700 Million on its GameStop Bet is Now After Unloved Oil and Gas Stocks (Business Insider)
One hedge fund that managed to walk away with a $700 million profit on its GameStop investment is now targeting beaten-down oil and gas stocks and says sustainability-focussed investors are missing the opportunity here. New York-based hedge fund Senvest Management bet on GameStop even before the Reddit-fueled mania sent its stock soaring, and pocketed one of the great fortunes from the market frenzy.
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Billionaire Platt-Backed Engitix Inks Takeda Partnership (Bloomberg)
U.K.-based biotech firm Engitix Ltd. and Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. have agreed to extend their existing partnership in a deal could be valued at as much as $300 million. Engitix, whose backers include billionaire hedge fund manager Michael Platt, will work with Takeda to jointly develop novel therapeutics for fibrostenotic inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, according to a statement seen by Bloomberg News.
Tramondo Launches European Equity Strategy (Hedge Week)
Tramondo Investment Partners (Tramondo), a bank-independent Zug, Switzerland-based investment boutique, has launched Dynamic Equity Europe, a sub-fund of Tramondo UCITS Funds. The strategy of the Dynamic Equity Europe Fund is a carve-out of the firm’s global defensive equity strategy with active risk management, which has been trading since 2017. Focusing on Europe ex Switzerland, Dynamic Equity Europe pursues the same conservative equity approach that participates in equity markets while looking to preserve capital in turbulent times.
Muddy Waters Capital Expands With the Addition of Marta Obando as Head of Marketing and Investor Relations (Businesswire)
AUSTIN, Texas –(BUSINESS WIRE)– Muddy Waters Capital LLC (“Muddy Waters”), an activist investment firm, today announced that Marta Obando has joined as head of investor relations and marketing. Bringing nearly three decades of global financial markets experience, Marta will lead the firm’s marketing and IR function. Prior to joining Muddy Waters, Marta ran a consultancy that connected businesses with private equity and venture growth capital. Previously, she raised capital for hedge funds and other alternative investment products and was a broker for equity products at global investment banks, including Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, BNP, Bear Stearns, and Citigroup in Hong Kong.
Sachem Head Cuts Director Slate to 5 in US Foods Board Bbattle (Reuters)
BOSTON, April 11 (Reuters) – Activist investment firm Sachem Head on Monday cut its slate of director nominees at US Foods Holding Co (USFD.N) to five from seven, backing away from plans to try and take control of the food distributor’s board. The hedge fund, US Foods’ biggest shareholder with an 8.7% stake, announced the move in a regulatory filing less than two weeks after the company appointed two new independent directors to persuade investors it was pursuing the right strategy.
Schroders Acquires European Renewable Infrastructure Manager Greencoat Capital (Opalesque)
British multinational asset management company Schroders has completed the acquisition of a 75% shareholding in Greencoat Capital, one of Europe’s largest investment managers dedicated to the high-growth renewable infrastructure market. The remaining 25% is owned by Greencoat Capital’s founding directors. As a result, the renewable infrastructure manager will become part of Schroders Capital, the company’s private markets division, and be known as Schroders Greencoat, which has $75 billion in assets under management and is the private markets division of Schroders PLC.
Four Discounted Funds Paying Up To 9.8% Dividends (Forbes)
One thing we love about closed-end funds (beyond the dividends: many CEFs yield 7%+ today) is the big discounts to net asset value, or NAV, that these funds hand us. These discounts only exist with CEFs. Here’s why: CEFs typically can’t issue new shares to new investors after their IPOs, so their shares get bid up and down on the market, independent of how much their portfolios are actually worth.
BlackRock Joins Stablecoin Issuer Circle’s $400M Funding Round (Investing.com)
Circle, a major peer-to-peer payments firm and the principal operator of the UDC Coin (USDC), has announced a $400 million funding round and a new partnership with the American investment firm BlackRock (NYSE:BLK). The USDC issuer has entered into an agreement for a funding round featuring investors like BlackRock, the investment advisory firm Fidelity Management and Research, the London-based hedge fund Marshall Wace and Fin Capital, as Circle officially announced Tuesday. The investment round is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022.
Tuesday 4/12 Insider Buying Report: BDSX, DC (Nasdaq.com)
On Thursday, Biodesix’s Director, Matthew Strobeck, made a $2M buy of BDSX, purchasing 1,117,318 shares at a cost of $1.79 a piece. Strobeck was up about 35.2% on the purchase at the high point of today’s trading session, with BDSX trading as high as $2.42 at last check today. Biodesix is trading up about 26.7% on the day Tuesday. And at Dakota Gold, there was insider buying on Thursday, by CEO Jonathan T. Awde who bought 12,500 shares at a cost of $4.71 each, for a total investment of $58,830. This buy marks the first one filed by Awde in the past twelve months. Dakota Gold is trading down about 3.1% on the day Tuesday. Awde was up about 9.4% on the purchase at the high point of today’s trading session, with DC trading as high as $5.15 in trading on Tuesday.
