MG Capital Seeks to Oust Philip Falcone From HC2’s Board (Bloomberg)
Philip Falcone is in the crosshairs of an activist investor who wants to remove him — along with the rest of the board — from HC2 Holdings Inc. MG Capital, run by former Third Point executive Michael Gorzynski, wrote in a letter to shareholders Tuesday that it thinks HC2 has traded at a discount of more than 80% to the value of its underlying assets because of a series of management missteps. Gorzynski pins the underperformance on Falcone, HC2’s chairman, chief executive officer and president.
Hedge Fund Founder Andrew Redleaf Talks Politics, Says He’ll Vote ‘Blue No Matter Who’ – Even Sanders (Forbes)
Andrew Redleaf, the founder of hedge fund Whitebox Advisors, has for some time expressed concerns over issues facing small businesses in the U.S. More recently, his efforts have led him to get involved in politics at the grassroots level. To this end he has funded the Lincoln Project, a conservative super PAC opposed to President Donald J. Trump. With the Democratic primary now in full swing, Redleaf was asked to assess the political landscape as an investor. He turned out to be very outspoken on a host of issues that should be of interest to market participants and political analysts alike. Below is an edited transcript of the conversation held Feb. 8.
Hedge Fund Mogul David Tepper Takes a Stake in Intelsat and Urges a New FCC Deal (CNBC)
David Tepper’s hedge fund, Appaloosa, took a minority stake in satellite company Intelsat on Tuesday and sent a letter to its board, urging the company to renegotiate terms of its 5G deal with the Federal Communications Commission. “We want a smart agreement for all parties and this isn’t smart for anybody,” Tepper told CNBC’s Scott Wapner. Shares of Intelsat rose as much as 27% after Appaloosa announced a 7.4% stake.
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Leon Cooperman Says the Market has Become Too Pessimistic on Energy Stocks, Too Euphoric on Tesla (CNBC)
Billionaire investor and founder of Omega Advisors Leon Cooperman said Tuesday that investors have become too pessimistic on the energy sector while too optimistic on individual companies like Tesla.
Building ‘Sales’ Muscle (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Two of the Nordic hedge fund industry’s asset managers are expanding their investor relations staff. Oslo-based hedge fund platform Sector Asset Management announced the hiring of Léopold Gasteen as Investor Relations Director, while alternative asset manager Resscapital announced that Cristina Lugaro is joining their Institutional Sales team. Sector Asset Management is a multi-boutique asset manager with three members of the Nordic Hedge Index under its umbrella. Léopold Gasteen has eight years of experience in the asset management industry. During his undergraduate studies, he founded a marketplace enabling start-ups to find university talent, worked at interdealer brokerage firm Mariana Capital in London and interned at boutique hedge fund RAM Capital in Geneva.
Hedge Funds Use DIY Strategies to Gauge Coronavirus Impact (Reuters)
NEW YORK (Reuters) – As investors crunch numbers to determine how the coronavirus will hit China’s economy, hedge fund manager Nathaniel Polachek has tied much of his outlook to the fate of a ship anchored near Weihai, China. The vessel carries some 750 tons of lead concentrate that Polachek, head of New York-based Commodity Asset Management, purchased in Greece to sell on the Chinese mainland.
