SAC Prosecutor Tells SEC Cohen’s Case Should Be Delayed (Bloomberg)
SAC Capital Advisors LP founder Steven A. Cohen’s case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should be put on hold because criminal prosecutions of his former employees aren’t fully resolved, a prosecutor told the judge handling the administrative action. The SEC filed its case against Cohen last year, alleging he failed to supervise former hedge fund managers Mathew Martoma and Michael Steinberg and ignored indications that they illegally traded stocks based on confidential information. Both men were convicted after separate federal trials in Manhattan.
Coatue changes mind on $2 billion capital return (CNBC.com)
Coatue Management may not be giving back $2 billion to clients after all. In April, founder and Tiger Management alum Philippe Laffont announced that his main technology-focused hedge fund had grown too large to invest efficiently, especially its “short” bets against stocks. He said Coatue would return about $2 billion from the more than $7 billion fund by June 30 following losses of 7.4 percent in the first quarter and 8.7 percent in March alone.
Does Tely Labs Threaten George Soros’s 9.4 Million Polycom Share Bet? (Forbes)
In February George Soros reported that he had bet 9.4 million shares on videoconferencing player Polycom Inc (NASDAQ:PLCM) which replaced its CEO in December 2013. But a fast-growing upstart is threatening the videoconferencing industry structure which has been dominated by Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) and Polycom. Does that mean Soros made a bad bet? The upstart is Tely Labs, an “under 50-person” Redwood City, Calif.-based startup that’s “doubling its revenues year over year.” It controls 20% of the single-codec videoconferencing endpoint market in North America according to Wainhouse Research. And Tely believes that it’s poised to take second place from Polycom — with a 21% share — by the end of 2014.
Ziffs Shut Down Hedge Fund, Shift Way Wealth Is Managed (Wall Street Journal)
The billionaire Ziff brothers are winding down the multibillion hedge funds that invest their family fortune, one of the biggest such pots of money in the world. The three brothers, heirs to the wealth created by their grandfather’s magazine-publishing empire, are shutting the second of their two hedge funds and stepping away from the one-for-all, all-for-one investing style they followed for more than two decades, according to people familiar with their plans. Dirk, Robert and Daniel Ziff, ages 50, 47 and 42 years old, respectively, are closing their London-based hedge fund after its veteran portfolio manager, David Fear, decided to strike out on his own, the people said.
Obus Testifies In Insider-Trading Case (FINalternatives)
More than a dozen years after he allegedly committed insider-trading, Nelson Obus yesterday got the chance to deny the charges with his own voice. The Wynnefield Capital founder took the stand yesterday at his civil trial, at which he is accused of illegally trading SunSource shares in 2001. The Securities and Exchange Commission claims he learned of SunSource’s planned acquisition by Allied Capital Corp. from his analyst, Peter Black, who in turn learned it from a friend at GE Capital, Thomas Strickland.
Betting on bankruptcies (CNBC.com)
Sorrell returns to banking with Moelis (Financial News)
Former Goldman Sachs banker Robert Sorrell has returned to the investment banking fold in a senior financial sponsors advisory role at Moelis & Co (NYSE:MC), a few months after shutting the hedge fund manager that he left Goldman Sachs to start in 2009. Sorrell, one of three sons of WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell, worked at Goldman Sachs along with his brothers Mark and Jonathan, but left in late 2009 and set up Sorrell Capital the following year to manage a global opportunities fund with a long/short discretionary, global macro strategy.
Robert K. Steel Joins Perella Weinberg Partners as Chief Executive Officer (MarketWatch)
Perella Weinberg Partners, a global, independent advisory and asset management firm, today announced that Robert K. Steel has joined the Firm and will become Chief Executive Officer, effective July 7, 2014. Joseph Perella will continue in an active role as Chairman, while co-founders Terry Meguid and Peter Weinberg will remain in their roles as Co-Head of Asset Management and Head of Advisory, respectively.
The Pros and Cons Of Hillshire Brands’ Pinnacle Deal (Forbes)
Hillshire Brands Co (NYSE:HSH) recently announced plans to acquire Pinnacle Foods Inc (NYSE:PF) for $4.3 billion in a cash and stock transaction. Pinnacle Foods manufactures, markets, and distributes frozen vegetables, seafood, pizza, and bagels. It also sells cake mixes, salad dressings, table syrup, and pastry fruit fillings. The company generates annual sales revenue of around $2.5 billion. Pinnacle estimates that more than 85% of American households buy at least one of its products. The company also flaunts holding one of the top 2 brands in 10 out of the 13 product categories it operates in. However, many Hillshire Brands investors including Eminence Capital LLC, one of the meat company’s 20 largest shareholders, have questioned the deal.
Hedge Fund To Buy Quant Shop Numeric, Man Tipped (FINalternatives)
After a decade, private-equity firm TA Associates is cashing out of hedge fund Numeric Investors. More than a year after an auction for the minority stake in Boston-based Numeric produced no acceptable bids, TA has struck a deal with a large overseas hedge fund, Hedge Fund Alert reports. The unidentified buyer—HFA notes that speculation has centered on Man Group—is actually taking a majority stake in the firm, indicating that founder Lang Wheeler and Numeric’s other partners are selling some of their stake, as well.
Kloeckner Pentaplast Owners Said to Start $2 Billion Sale (Bloomberg)
Kloeckner Pentaplast’s owners have started the sale of the German plastic-packaging producer in a deal that may fetch more than 1.5 billion euros ($2 billion), according to people with knowledge of the matter. The group of lenders led by hedge fund Strategic Value Partners has mandated Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) and Jefferies Group LLC to prepare a sale, said the people, who asked not to be identified because talks are private. Information will go out to potential buyers in the next few weeks, and a sale could be completed this year, they said.
