U.S. Fund Claims $175 million from South Korea Over Samsung Units’ 2015 Merger (Reuters)
SEOUL (Reuters) – New York-based hedge fund Mason Capital Management has filed a legal claim seeking at least $175 million from the South Korean government as compensation for damages it says it sustained from a 2015 merger of two Samsung Group affiliates. Mason Capital’s claim follows a similar action by U.S. activist fund Elliott Management which in May sought $670 million in compensation from South Korea over its role in the Samsung affiliates’ merger. An official at South Korea’s justice ministry said on Tuesday that Mason Capital filed a notice of intent seeking a resolution through the Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism.
Hedge Funds Bridgewater, Winton Register to Launch Products in China (Reuters)
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Renowned global hedge fund managers Bridgewater Associates LP and Winton Group Ltd have had registrations to launch products in China accepted at a time of turbulence in capital markets, reflecting a change in the government’s stance toward such foreign funds. The Shanghai subsidiaries of Bridgewater and Winton both registered at the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC) on June 29, showed notices posted on the association’s website on Tuesday, paving way for private fund launches in the country.
Chad McDermott / Shutterstock.com
Hedge Funds Continue Selling Oil, Especially Fuels: Kemp (Hellenic Shipping News.com)
Hedge funds became much more bullish about the outlook for U.S. crude prices last week, following an outage on Canada’s Syncrude system, which supplies the U.S. Midwest, and a drawdown in crude stocks around Cushing. But in the rest of the petroleum complex, the persistent liquidation of formerly record bullish positions continued for the tenth week running, according to an analysis of exchange and regulatory data. Hedge funds and other money managers raised their combined net long position in the six most important petroleum futures and options contracts by 36 million barrels in the week to June 26.
Northern Trust Closes Software Development Rights Purchase from Citadel (Verdict.co.uk)
Northern Trust has wrapped up the acquisition of software development rights of Omnium technology platform from hedge fund manager Citadel. The deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, was first announced in January 2018. A team of key development professionals will join Northern Trust as part of the deal. Through the deal, Northern Trust aims to gain more control over technological enhancements as well as improve collaboration between its operations professionals and developers. Meanwhile, the asset manager will continue to offer middle office and fund administration services for Citadel funds. Northern Trust corporate and institutional services president Peter Cherecwich said: “We are excited to have this technology development team at Northern Trust.
Nestle And The Need To Change (Seeking Alpha)
Nestlé SA is getting a lot of attention lately as Dan Loeb, founder of the hedge fund Third Point, has put further pressure on the Swiss company to depart its “muddled strategic approach” and move more rapidly to deal with consumers rapidly changing tastes. Third Point is an activist investor that is known for its aggressive investment positions. It has claimed, “Nestlé’s steps are too slow, calling the group ‘insular, complacent and bureaucratic.’” “Nestle has also faced criticism that it was too slow to adapt to a digital age which has cut the cost of market entry for media savvy start-ups,” according to Ralph Atkins and Scheherazade Daneshkhu in the Financial Times.
