Greenlight Asked S.E.C. for Delay on Disclosure of Micron Stake (New York Times)
David Einhorn, the billionaire hedge fund manager whose stock picks are closely watched on Wall Street, is not a big fan of so-called copycat traders who simply latch onto his ideas — especially when it costs his investors money. Last November, in a previously undisclosed letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Einhorn asked for a seven-day delay in disclosing that his fund, Greenlight Capital, was amassing a stake of 47 million shares in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), which makes memory chips.
Activist investor buys NY mansion for record $147M (New York Post)
An activist investor has just bought the most expensive residential property in the country. Barry Rosenstein, hedge fund manager of Jana Partners, is paying $147 million for a property on exclusive Further Lane. The 18-acre beachfront property — with formal gardens and a pond — was the dream house of Christopher H. Browne, managing director of the Tweedy, Browne Company investment firm, and his boyfriend, architect Andrew Gordon.
Liberal donors eye new long-term investments in states and new voters to boost Democrats (Washington Post)
A group of wealthy liberal donors who helped bankroll the Center for American Progress and other major advocacy groups on the left is developing a new big-money strategy that could boost state-level Democratic candidates and mobilize core party voters. The plan, being crafted in private by a group of about 100 donors that includes billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros and San Francisco venture capitalist Rob McKay, seeks to give Democrats a stronger hand in the redrawing of district lines for state legislatures and the U.S. House.
Bill Ackman’s Can’t-Lose Allergan Trade Still Carries Big Risk (Forbes)
Much of Wall Street greeted hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman’s announcement that he was teaming up with Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) to buy Botox-maker Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN) with a mixture of amazement and envy. Some people called the gambit unfair and even compared it to legal insider-trading since the effort saw Ackman take a nearly 10% stake in Allergan with the knowledge that Valeant would be swooping in to make a $46 billion bid for the company. Whether he was a genius who found a loophole or just gaming the system, the general feeling was that Ackman couldn’t lose.
U.S. court upholds Sotheby’s poison pill, rejects hedge fund’s bid (Reuters)
A U.S. court rejected activist hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb‘s bid to force auction house Sothebys (NYSE:BID) to remove its shareholder rights plan, which limits the amount of stock he can buy. Delaware Chancery Court Judge Donald Parsons ruled late on Friday that he would not overturn Sotheby’s so-called poison pill, which blocks activist investors from buying more than 10 percent of the company’s stock while passive investors can buy 20 percent.
Would you invest in a hacker’s hedge fund? (CNBC.com)
Elliott Fined for Insider Trading by French Market Regulator (1) (Businessweek)
France’s markets regulator said that billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Management Corp. engaged in insider trading of a toll-road company and fined it 16 million euros ($22 million), according to a letter sent to clients. The Autorite des Marches Financiers found that Elliott used material nonpublic information in the purchase of shares of Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhone SA in 2010, the letter said. The AMF had said Elliott’s U.K. unit invested in the company while negotiating to sell its stake in the road company to a third party. The regulator told Elliott the hedge-fund firm didn’t commit market manipulation or artificially inflate the share price.
Hedge funds bet against UK bookmakers (Financial Times)
Some of the UK’s biggest hedge fund managers are betting against the country’s bookmakers as they face increased taxes and a regulatory clampdown on lucrative computer gambling terminals. Odey Asset Management, Bluecrest and Marshall Wace are among the funds that have taken up substantial short positions – essentially wagering that share prices will fall – in Ladbrokes and William Hill, the UK’s two biggest bookmakers, according to regulatory filings.
Today A Bunch Of Hedge Fund Managers Will Unveil New Stock Picks – Here’s How Last Year’s Stock Picks Did (Businessinsider India)
Today, hundreds of investors will be gathering at Lincoln Center in Manhattan for the 19th annual Sohn Investment Conference. This annual charity conference brings together some of the biggest names in the hedge fund community to share some of their best ideas. Some of them are stock picks and others are investment ideas. This year’s line up includes Paul Tudor Jones II, Bill Ackman, David Einhorn, Jeffrey Gundlach and many more.
Two Hedge Fund Fraud Charges Dropped Against Rengan Rajaratnam (HedgeCo.net)
Prosecutors plan to dismiss two insider trading charges against former Galleon Group hedge fund portfolio manager Rengan Rajaratnam, Reuters reports, Rengan is the younger brother of the now imprisoned hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam. Rengan Rajaratnam was charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and six counts of securities fraud. He has been charged with conspiring with his older brother Raj, to cheat on Wall Street and earn nearly $1.2 million illegally.
Adage Capital Hires Former Och-Ziff Partner Joshua Ross (Wall Street Journal)
A former top investment executive at hedge-fund giant Och-Ziff Capital Management LLC has been hired by rival firm Adage Capital Management LP. Joshua Ross, formerly a partner and one of a handful of executive managing directors at Och-Ziff, landed at Adage, the Boston-based hedge-fund firm run by former executives of Harvard Management Co., according to a letter Adage sent to investors Friday. Adage has about $25 billion in assets under management.
