Hedge fund mogul Tepper warns: Don’t be too long U.S. stocks (Reuters)
Billionaire hedge fund manager David Tepper sounded a cautious message on Wednesday, telling a ballroom packed with other managers and investors that he was “nervous” about the stock market but that this was not the time to sell. Billed as the star attraction at the $2.7 trillion industry’s biggest annual event, Tepper discussed economic growth, central bank policies as well as his personal commitment to supporting local soup kitchens and food banks in his adopted home state.
Jana Says Firm Is Working With Walgreen After Transaction (Bloomberg)
Barry Rosenstein, founder of Jana Partners LLC, said his hedge-fund firm is working behind the scenes with Walgreen Company (NYSE:WAG) after the drugstore chain’s purchase of a controlling stake in U.K. retailer Alliance Boots Gmbh. “Effectively, this is Alliance Boots taking over,” Rosenstein said at the SkyBridge Alternatives Conference in Las Vegas today. The fund company invested $1 billion in Walgreen to become one of the biggest shareholders of the drugstore chain, Scott Ostfeld, a partner at Jana, said last month. Walgreen, based in Deerfield, Illinois, bought 45 percent of Alliance Boots in August 2012, giving it the option to acquire the rest of Europe’s largest pharmacy chain within three years.
Odey Opposes Murdoch Bid For German TV Channel (FINalternatives)
Crispin Odey has son tough words for his former father-in-law. But while difficulties with in-laws are nothing new, this one could have repercussions for a major media merger—because Odey’s former father-in-law is Rupert Murdoch. The Odey Asset Management chief has said that British television company BSkyB’s offer for Sky Deutschland isn’t good enough. “The current proposal, a nil-premium takeover of the minorities of Sky Deutschland, significantly undervalues the company,” the hedge fund said.
Perry Capital Reports Increased Stake in Herbalife (Wall Street Journal)
Richard Perry‘s Perry Capital increased its stake in Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), the nutritional supplements maker that hedge-fund manager William Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management has been campaigning against since December 2012. Perry Capital held a 4.9% stake, or 4.8 million shares, in Herbalife at the end of March, according to a quarterly securities filing Wednesday, compared with three million shares at the end of 2013.
Hintze gives £1.5 million to Tory party (Financial News)
A £1.5 million donation from one of the City’s best known hedge fund managers has swollen Conservative party coffers. Sir Michael Hintze, founder and chief executive of CQS, was the second biggest donor to a political party in the first quarter of this year, according to figures released by the Electoral Commission today. The largest donation for the quarter was £1,839,838 from Unite, the trade union, to the Labour Party.
Christie’s auction fetches $745 million (CNBC.com)
