Bill Ackman Can’t Possibly Be Expected To Remember All The Great Ideas He’s Ever Had (DealBreaker)
Bill Ackman wants to clear up a few things. First, the activist investor and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management LP is not a fan of “hostile” to describe unsolicited takeover offers. In a recent deposition–part of ongoing litigation over Pershing Square’s and Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX)’s pursuit of Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN)–Mr. Ackman balked at the term when it was posed by an Allergan lawyer.
SEC Names Hedge Fund Specialist To Run It’s National Exam Program (HedgeCo)
Marc Wyatt has been named Deputy Director of the agency’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE). Before joining the SEC, Wyatt was a principal and senior portfolio manager at Stark Investments, a global multi-strategy hedge fund. Wyatt served as chief executive of Stark Investments Ltd., responsible for European activities, including asset allocation, risk management, marketing, operations, and legal and compliance. Wyatt joined the SEC in December 2012 as a senior specialized examiner focused on examinations of advisers to hedge funds and private equity funds.
Traders Place Bets Ahead of Brazil Elections (PBR) (VALE) (StreetInsider)
Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR) (NYSE:PBR), Vale SA (ADR) (NYSE:VALE) and other Brazil stocks are on watch ahead of elections Sunday. Incumbent Dilma Rousseff and rival Aécio Neves are practically neck and neck, with conflicting poll data from Sensus and Datafolha/Ibope. Some reports say Rousseff has a slight edge. Earlier this week, hedge fund manager Jim Chanos described Petrobras as a scheme and called both stocks two of his favorite shorts. Since then shares have been pressured, but pared loses Friday.
Agrium Rises After ValueAct Capital Amasses 5.7% Stake (Bloomberg)
Agrium Inc. (NYSE:AGU), the farm retailer that last year fended off an activist shareholder, rose the most in more than five years after it disclosed investor ValueAct Capital Management LLC amassed an active 5.7 percent stake. ValueAct holds 8.19 million shares of Canadian company Agrium, the San Francisco-based firm run by Jeffrey Ubben said today in a regulatory filing. Agrium and ValueAct have been in talks for months and the firm hasn’t made any demands for a spinoff of its retail business, Richard Downey, a spokesman for Calgary-based Agrium, said today by phone.
Ex-Black River oil trader launches Zafiro commodities hedge fund (Reuters)
An energy trader with more than 20 years experience in the industry is set to launch a new Geneva-based, oil-focused commodities hedge fund, entering the market as many money managers have been hit by a sharp drop in prices. Stephen Smethurst, who managed oil trading for the $600 million Black River Commodity Trading Fund, is set to launch the Zafiro Capital Commodities Trading Fund at the start of next month.
Hedge fund ‘Rocktoberfest’ (CNBC)
