Riverbed lowers guidance as sales miss target (MarketWatch)
Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:RVBD) said Monday it lowered its revenue guidance for the second quarter as sales fell short of company targets, especially in North America. Shares of Riverbed slipped more than 4% in early trading. The announcement comes as Riverbed continues to fight off a takeover bid from activist investor Elliott Management Corp., which has been critical of the company’s management and execution. The hedge fund–which recently owned more than 10% of Riverbed–reaffirmed Monday its all-cash buyout offer of $21 a share.
Investors exit hedge funds at fastest pace in six months (Reuters)
Investors pulled out money from hedge funds in June at the fastest pace in six months, part of their twice a year adjustments to portfolios, data showed on Friday. The SS&C GlobeOp Capital Movement Index, which calculates monthly hedge fund subscriptions minus redemptions, fell 1.77 percent in July to 148.66 points. The index is compiled by fund administrator SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc and is based on data provided by its fund clients, which represent about 10 percent of the assets invested in the hedge fund sector, or about $300 billion.
Activist Finds ChipMOS Value Is Easy to Compute (Wall Street Journal)
A Taiwanese chip company with listings in the U.S. and Taiwan has its New York shares trading cheaper than the Taipei ones. Activist investor Oasis Management is already chipping away at this gap. The company in question is ChipMOS Technologies, which assembles, packages and tests chips. It earns half its revenue from serving memory chip makers, especially Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU). Most of the other half comes from smartphones and high-resolution television makers who outsource work linked to displays. Samsung is a major customer, notes Credit Suisse.
Fort Worth’s Browder Capital Expands To Florida (FINalternatives)
Fort Worth, TX-based hedge fund Browder Capital is expanding its operations to Florida. The $11 million fund’s 20-something founders, Patrick Browder and Robert Sunleaf, told the Dallas Morning News they would open a second office in the Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla., area in mid-August. Browder will move to Florida to establish the office, raise money and deal with clients.
Hedge funds bet $745 million on Kilpatrick debt in Detroit’s bankruptcy (Detroit Free Press)
Several hedge funds are betting they can profit from Detroit’s bankruptcy, snapping up more than $750 million of the city’s distressed debt. The New York-based hedge funds — whose investments in Detroit debt were first reported Friday night by the Free Press — today disclosed the size of their bets in a court filing. Viewed by critics as “vulture investors,” the hedge funds’ arrival could actually be a good sign for Detroit. Although they may drive a hard bargain in negotiations with the city, hedge funds are typically predisposed to strike settlements so that their money isn’t tied up in one single investment for too long.
