Hedge Fund Manager Dan Loeb’s Attack On Sony Entertainment Looks Pretty Silly Right Now (BuzzFeed)
American Hustle and Captain Phillips helped lead Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE)’s movie division to 21 Academy Award nominations today, tying Warner Bros. for the most Oscar nods among Hollywood studios. The nominations follow the seven Golden Globe wins Sony Entertainment — which consists of the film studio, TV production house and music unit — scored on Sunday. Combined, the strong awards season showing for Sony Entertainment is sweet retribution for an unprovoked attack launched against it last summer from hedge fund titan Dan Loeb. Loeb, who manages Third Point Partners and had been coming off a high water mark after successfully installing Marissa Mayer as CEO of Yahoo and cashing out his stake in the company for a net return of $600 million, called for a breakup of the Japanese conglomerate and a spin out of around 20% of the entertainment unit, which he particularly derided for supposed underperformance.
Berkowitz’s no-hedge hedge fund up 33% (CNBC.com)
For years, Fairholme Capital Management’s Bruce Berkowitz was known as the mutual fund manager who acted like a hedge fund activist. Big and volatile, the Miami-based fund took large positions in companies like real estate developer The St. Joe Company (NYSE:JOE), financial giant American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG) and international banking group Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) and then pushed for change. A year ago, Berkowitz formally attempted to manage both a hedge and mutual fund simultaneously. He launched the Fairholme Partnership, a private version of his Fairholme fund with $22 million of his and other employee capital. The hope, he said when opening to outside investors in October, was to raise a billion dollars in a year.
Former FX Concepts Executives Savage, DiRusso Start Citic Fund (Businessweek)
Former FX Concepts LLC executives Robert Savage and Ron DiRusso started a hedge fund with Citic Capital Holdings Ltd., the company backed by the sovereign-wealth funds of China and Qatar. Savage, formerly chief strategist at bankrupt FX Concepts, is Chief Executive Officer of CCTrack Solutions and DiRusso is chief investment officer, Citic Capital said today in a statement. The fund is aimed at institutional investors in North America, Europe and Asia and will begin trading in currencies, bonds, commodities, equities and futures in the first quarter, the company said.
Riverbed Balks at $3 Billion Elliot Takeover Bid (EnterpriseNetworkingPlanet)
Last week, hedge fund manager Elliot Management made an unsolicited $19/share bid to acquire WAN optimization vendor Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:RVBD). At the time, Riverbed said it would review the offer. On January 15th, Riverbed announced its decision after reviewing the offer, The answer is no. In a nutshell, Riverbed’s management is of the opinion that the Elliot bid undervalues the company. “While the Board will carefully review any credible offer made to acquire the company, any such offer must deliver value to our shareholders in excess of what we believe will be created as we execute on our growth plans and capitalize on the significant investments we have already made in that regard,” Jerry M. Kennelly, chairman and CEO, Riverbed said in a statement.
Women-run hedge funds outperform men in S&P 500 (CNBC.com)
Hedge-Fund Founder Robert W. Wilson Leaves Art to Whitney (Bloomberg)
Robert W. Wilson, the hedge-fund manager who lept to his death last month from his New York residence, gave his art collection to the Whitney Museum of American Art in Manhattan. Wilson, who served on the museum’s board, didn’t specify the size of the collection in his will, which was filed this week in New York state Surrogate’s Court. He also bequeathed his wine collection to Manhattan resident James K. Brehm and directed that his residential properties be sold by his estate. Wilson, who died Dec. 23 at age 87 after a Wall Street career that spanned five decades, started Wilson & Associates, a hedge fund, in 1969. He retired in 1986 and, by 2000, his net worth peaked at about $800 million, according to Gary Castle, his accountant.
Boston hedge fund Esplanade Capital boosts offer for Nevada casino operator (Boston Business Journal)
Unwilling to back down in its drive to buy Archon Corp., Boston hedge fund Esplanade Capital LLC has upped its offer to $111 million. The $19.25-a-share offer tops Esplanade’s June offer of $18.50 a share for the Nevada-based casino operator and owner of the former Sovereign Bank building on Morrissey Boulevard in Dorchester. Esplanade President Shawn Kravetz has been frustrated by the Archon board of directors’ unwillingness to sell. Esplanade’s escalating offers have either been ignored or dismissed, he said.
Twin Rehires Event-Driven Specialist Horgan (FINalternatives)
Hedge fund Twin Capital Management has named Guggenheim Global Trading’s Michael Horgan a vice president. Horgan will serve as co-manager of event-driven and special situations at New York-based Twin, working alongside senior vice president Brett Patelsky, the firm said today. It will be Horgan’s second stint with Twin; he previously covered event-driven at the firm for three years.
Hedge funds wary of taxes despite new law (BDlive)
The Taxation Laws Amendment Act will limit the risk of double taxation for hedge funds, but industry experts are concerned there is a risk that trading profits could still be taxed within funds. An unprotected hedge fund industry meant little protection for investors and left profits open to tax both in the fund and on withdrawal. “While there are still one or two uncertainties, the act will prevent double taxation,” Emil Brincker, national practice head of tax at DLA Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, said on Thursday. Mr Brincker said the South African Revenue Service was likely to address some of the uncertainties arising from the act in the upcoming budget speech on February 26.
China shines as Asian fund managers’ best bet… Hong Kong’s largest hedge funds enjoy best year on record… (HedgeWeek)
For investors in Asian hedge funds, it was China and not the region’s hottest major market, Japan, that provided the best bang for the buck in 2013 – a result set to ensure greater capital inflows into steadily growing China-focused funds as reported by Reuters. Scoring with heavy bets on Internet, tech and casino stocks, hedge funds investing in the Greater China region gained an average 20 per cent last year compared to a flat MSCI China index, their best showing in five years.
