Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), PLX Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLXT)
Carl Icahn expects to wrap up formal commitments today for the $5.2 billion six-year financing package he is raising for Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), The Post has learned. “Everything we heard is the book is in shape,” a source who is buying a piece of the loan said yesterday. “Friday morning it should be wrapped up.” While the financing deal is expected to carry no covenants, the source said, the senior loan is equal to only half of the cash Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) is expected to have on hand should Icahn’s recapitalization plan succeed. Icahn plans to use the $5.2 billion — combined with Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) cash and money borrowed against receivables — to pay shareholders the more than $15 billion needed to give them $14 a share for 60 percent of the business. When combined with the outstanding shares, he is claiming his offer is worth $17.32 a share.
Quants tackle hedge fund operational risk (Risk)
Over the past three decades, the investment world has been transformed by an army of mathematicians, physicists and computer scientists using sophisticated quantitative techniques to play the markets. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the hedge fund industry, which has embraced quantitatively driven strategies such as statistical arbitrage and managed futures. Investors have also had to adapt. The best funds of hedge funds (FoHFs) have developed an array of sophisticated quantitative scoring systems and analytical tools to aid them in their investment decisions.
PLX Technology Faces Pressure from Activist Hedge Fund (SECFilings)
PLX Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLXT), a developer of integrated circuits that perform critical system connectivity functions, continues to be the target of at least one activist hedge fund. On June 27, 2013, Potomac Capital Management II delivered a letter to the company demanding to inspect documents related to any alternative acquisition proposal presented or considered by the Board of Directors during its go-shop period in 2012 merger attempt. …“It is clear that shareholder value can best be created by capitalizing on the historic interest in PLX Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLXT) from potential acquirers, while leveraging the improved operating model of the Company. There is significant strategic value in PLX Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLXT)’s dominant position in the PCI Express market which coupled with the cost synergies that a large acquirer could recognize, would drive an acquisition value substantially higher than what the Company could achieve as a standalone business.
Largest Hedge Fund Operator Ray Dalio Stricken by Emerging Markets (Nasdaq)
Investor Ray Dalio , founder of the $150 billion hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, has developed a unique view of the economy, comparing it to a machine. In March, he told CNBC that he expects stocks to perform well over the short term, but foresaw a pullback after that: “I think what has been artificial is that there has been a lot of printing of money which has driven short-term interest rates down to make cash a terrible investment and to make bonds a terrible investment, both the printing of money and the seeking of safe returns have driven money into cash, and so with the negative real return of about 2% in cash and half a percent in bonds, that’s a bad investment.
Fishing for Stocks as Market Regains Mojo (Barrons)
The stock market, which appeared troubled in recent weeks, has scored three straight days of solid gains. This rebound shouldn’t come as a surprise to Cliff Asness, the respected hedge-fund manager who told Fortune in an interview that stocks are in solid shape. “There is no liquidity crisis or big unwind,” said Asness. “This is not 2008.” Asness, who runs AQR Capital Management, told Fortune that the market has been caught off guard because long-term interest rates are rising at a time when inflation is flat, expectations for corporate cash flows haven’t dramatically improved, and commodity prices are falling.
Broadridge To Acquire Hedge Fund Management Specialist Bonaire (HedgeCo)
Hedge fund service provider Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire Bonaire Software Solutions, LLC., according to sources. Bonaire provides fee calculation, billing, and revenue and expense management solutions for asset managers including institutional asset managers, wealth managers, mutual funds, bank trusts, hedge funds and capital markets firms. The addition of Bonaire a step in Broadridge’s strategy to build a suite of data-driven solutions for mutual fund, retirement, and asset management firms to help them grow their businesses, operate efficiently and minimize risk.
