Och-Ziff Falls on Report Saying Firm Financed Africa Deal (Bloomberg)
Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE:OZM) fell the most in three weeks after the Wall Street Journal reported that the hedge-fund firm run by Daniel Och helped finance controversial oil and mining deals in Africa. Och-Ziff made two loans with a total value of $234 million to companies controlled by Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler, the newspaper said, citing documents. The loans were routed through offshore companies, the paper said.
Hedge fund manager Murray Stahl has bought 13 percent of the seats on the last independent U.S. grain exchange, doubling prices and fueling speculation he may want a platform to trade his fund’s products or even to cash in on a potential takeover, industry sources said on Monday. The Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) survived rounds of consolidation among global exchanges that created giants like CME Group Inc (NASDAQ:CME), based in Chicago, and ICE, a network of exchanges including the New York and Euronext stock markets.
George Soros Further Reduces Stake In Exar Corporation (EXAR) (Insider Monkey)
George Soros has decided to further trim his stake in Exar Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAR) and has sold 26,577 shares in two transactions at prices of $11.23 and $11.24 apiece, according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result, his fund, Soros Fund Management is now holding approximately 4.93 million shares, which, given the current market price of $11.12, carries a value in excess of $54.9 million. In January, George Soros has already reduced exposure to Exar Corporation, selling approximately 985,700 shares.
Pine River Parts Ways With Reinsurer Execs. (FINalternatives)
Pine River Capital Management’s road to joining the reinsurance business is proving a winding one. The hedge fund hopes to join the likes of Third Point and Greenlight Capital with an affiliated reinsurer that will invest its premiums with Pine River. The firm initially sought to buy SAC Capital Advisors’ reinsurer, but the unit ultimately went to Two Sigma Investments.
Ackman documentary stars alleged Herbalife victims (New York Post)
In his quest to bring down Herbalife, activist investor Bill Ackman will publicly showcase a documentary about former Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) distributors who say they were defrauded by the company. Ackman, who has bet more than $1 billion that Herbalife’s stock will collapse, is offering the film as his latest evidence that the controversial nutrition products company is a pyramid scheme. He said his Pershing Square hedge fund commissioned the 15-minute documentary last year to get alleged victims before regulators and the public.
‘Huge amount’ of dry powder in private equity: Pro (CNBC.com)
Hedge fund manager Davide Serra alleges price manipulation in shorting attack on Quindell (Telegraph.co.uk)
Davide Serra, the hedge fund manager who has advised the Government on the future of banking, has complained to regulators on both sides of the Atlantic about last week’s shorting attack on country club-turned-legal outsourcer Quindell Portfolio. The chief executive of hedge fund Algebris Investments told The Telegraph that he holds about a 2pc stake in Quindell. Shares in the Aim-listed company, whose clients include RSA Insurance Group and RAC, plunged 39pc on Tuesday after a US short-seller, Gotham City Research, published a scathing attack which caused almost £950m of its market value to be shed.
Cheyne Capital raids the ranks of poker-playing hedge fund manager (eFinancialCareers)
Cheyne Capital, one of London’s most seasoned hedge funds, has swooped on senior employees of Meditor Capital Management, the $3bn fund that closed its European equities fund in December. Martin Glen, a portfolio manager overseeing the deals desk at Meditor, and Pierre Di Maria, a portfolio manager at the hedge fund, joined Cheyne as partners in April, according to regulatory filings.
Rothschild Group Teams Up With Hedge Fund Seeder Larch Lane (HedgeCo.net)
Rothschild Asset Management, the US asset management business of the Rothschild Group, and employee-owned Larch Lane Advisors have teamed up to establish the Rothschild Larch Lane Management Company LLC. Bringing together two experts in hedge fund investing, the joint venture company will act as the investment advisor for a multi-manager liquid alternatives 40 Act fund that will utilize a risk balanced approach to portfolio construction.
Scottish Widows executives leave after Aberdeen takeover (Reuters)
Investment manager Aberdeen Asset Management said the head of the Scottish Widows funds business it recently bought from Lloyds Banking Group was leaving as part of the unit’s absorption into its new owner. Aberdeen said on Monday that Dean Buckley, chief executive of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP), leaves along with Lynda Shillaw, who was director of real estate, Mark Connolly, director of Fixed Income and Will Low, who was director of global equities.
Infamous Hacker ‘Weev’ Went On CNBC To Explain The Fascinating Hedge Fund He’s About To Launch (Business Insider)
Well-known hacker Andrew “Weev” Auernheimer, who released thousands of iPad users’ email addresses to point out a flaw in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s servers, is starting a hedge fund. His fund will be called “TRO LLC” (clever) and the primary strategy will be to short companies. “The underlying theme is generating financial intelligence from the computer underground and internet communities,” he told CNBC.
