Dalio Says U.S. in Decline as China Rises, Warns of Election Risk (Bloomberg Quint)
(Bloomberg) — Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio said there’s a “reasonable chance” neither major U.S. political party will accept the results of the 2024 election. “There is a worry that one should have about the divisiveness and what it means for each other,” Dalio said Monday during a wide-ranging interview for “The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations,” scheduled for broadcast Feb. 2 on Bloomberg Television.
Trian Expected to Revive Its P&G Playbook with Unilever (Reuters)
BOSTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Two and a half years ago Nelson Peltz, the billionaire activist investor who often presents himself as a partner with constructive advice for companies, told an audience of pension and hedge funds that no one had a monopoly on good ideas.
Activist Macellum Asks for a Seat on Kohl’s Board and for a Commitment to Explore a Sale (CNBC)
Activist hedge fund Macellum Advisors has been asking Kohl’s to consider selling itself. With Kohl’s confirming parties have expressed interest in an acquisition, Macellum said it wants at least one seat on the retailer’s board. Macellum, which owns roughly 5% of Kohl’s stock, said that it also wants Kohl’s to publicly commit to carrying out a process in which it reviews strategic alternatives. The letter comes a day after Starboard Value-backed Acacia Research confirmed an all-cash offer to buy Kohl’s at $64 a share, valuing the retailer at roughly $9 billion.
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Robotics Startups Seek to Build a Better Self-Driving Lawn Mower (Bloomberg)
Tiger Global led an investment in Electric Sheep Robotics, which makes a device for large-scale, autonomous commercial mowers. Hundreds of well-funded robotics startups are working on self-driving cars, self-piloting drones and shelf-diving warehouse robots. One lesser-known area that’s beginning to draw the attention of investors: autonomous lawn mowers. Electric Sheep Robotics Inc., which makes an add-on device for commercial mowers, plans to announce a $21.5 million funding round Tuesday led by Tiger Global Management. It’s one of several companies with their eyes on green pastures.
Anthony Scaramucci Says Crypto Investors should Ride Out the Dotcom-Style Crash as It’s Early Days for Bitcoin (Market Insider)
Bitcoin’s recent price crash doesn’t necessarily mean the cryptocurrency is faltering, crypto investor Anthony Scaramucci believes. The SkyBridge Capital boss compared the recent crash in digital currencies to the tech shakeout during the dot-com era of the late 1990s, when many companies collapsed or fell by the wayside.
Post Road Group Raises Over USD300m for Second Credit Opportunity Fund (Hedge Week)
Post Road Group (Post Road), an alternative investment firm focused on middle-market corporate strategies and real estate, has closed the Post Road Special Opportunity Fund II LP with total capital commitments of more than USD300 million, exceeding the Fund’s target. SOF II received significant backing from existing Post Road limited partners as well as new investors globally, including pension funds, fund of funds, university endowments, private foundations, and family offices.
Evergreen Funds: Hold Forever (Preqin)
Sequoia Capital, one of the most successful and prominent venture capital firms in the world, is consolidating all future investments through an evergreen fund with an open-ended structure. Announced in October last year, the Sequoia evergreen fund will be a liquid portfolio with a series of sub-funds for venture investments. The fund structure is a radical departure from the conventional 10-12-year investment cycle, which forces fund managers to seek timely exits. Instead, Sequoia will recycle returns to its central fund.
Bally’s Stock Soars on Buyout Offer From Hedge Fund (Barron’s)
Stock in the casino operator Bally’s skyrocketed after the hedge fund Standard General offered to buy all the shares outstanding for $38 each. Bally’s stock was surging 23% to $35.96.The offer represents a premium of 30% to the company’s closing price on Monday. Bally’s (ticker: BALY) didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Barron’s.
How a Hedge Fund Is Moving Beyond Its Charismatic Founder (Institutional Investor)
The hedge fund firm founded by George Weiss 40 years ago is the getting an overhaul. Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisers, with $4 billion in assets, is formally rebranding around its “human plus machine” approach to investment decisions, all-out transparency, and footprint in the retail and financial adviser market.
Tuesday 1/25 Insider Buying Report: NILE, CAMP (Nasdaq.com)
On Friday, BitNile Holdings’ Executive Chairman, Milton C. Ault III, made a $91,959 purchase of NILE, buying 105,000 shares at a cost of $0.88 a piece. Bargain hunters can bag NILE at a price even lower than Ault III did, with the stock trading as low as $0.78 at last check today which is 11.1% below Ault III’s purchase price. BitNile Holdings is trading trading flat on the day Tuesday. And at CalAmp, there was insider buying on Monday, by Chief Financial Officer Kurtis Joseph Binder who bought 13,500 shares for a cost of $5.38 each, for a total investment of $72,630. This purchase marks the first one filed by Binder in the past twelve months. CalAmp is trading up about 5.9% on the day Tuesday. Binder was up about 7.6% on the purchase at the high point of today’s trading session, with CAMP trading as high as $5.79 at last check today.
Lux Industries Tanks 20% After SEBI Bans Executive Director for Insider Trading (Investing.com)
Investing.com — Shares of the innerwear company Lux Industries (NS:LUXI) tanked 20% on Tuesday to Rs 2,813.7 apiece after the markets regulator SEBI banned the company’s executive director, Udit Todi on account of insider trading on Monday. Sebi banned a total of 14 entities for insider trading on Monday and ordered Lux Industries to confiscate ill-gotten gains worth Rs 2.94 crore.
