Japan Tobacco Management Criticized by Fund, FT Says (Bloomberg/FT)
The Children’s Investment Fund Management UK LLP sent a letter to Japan’s finance ministry saying Japan Tobacco Inc.’s management is “destroying shareholder value,” the Financial Times reported today, citing the letter. The hedge fund, known for its fight to force change at Japanese utility Electric Power Development Co., said the value of the Finance Ministry’s 50.01 percent stake in Japan Tobacco could be doubled to $40 billion with better capital management, the newspaper reported.
IKOS’s Ambrosiadou to Appear at Hedge Fund Gala Amid Husband’s Spy Claims (Bloomberg)
IKOS Asset Management Ltd.’s Elena Ambrosiadou has a knack for attracting attention. Once labeled the U.K.’s highest-paid woman, Ambrosiadou has spent three weeks fending off spying allegations and claims by her estranged husband that he still owns a stake in the $2.5 billion hedge fund. She’ll be hard to miss tonight at one of London’s biggest annual charity events: she has paid for two tables at the Absolute Return for Kids dinner, according to her spokesman. ARK says tables cost a minimum of 100,000 pounds ($164,070) each. She’s also agreed to auction off a week aboard her 289-foot Maltese Falcon, which she bought in 2009 for about $120 million.
Avenue Cap, others eye sale of 30% stake in Indonesian bank (Reuters)
New York-based Avenue Capital, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, with a 19.4 percent stake in the bank, as well as Harmony Capital Partners, an Asian-focused private equity firm founded by former Merrill Lynch banker Suresh Withana, with a 3.8 percent stake, are among investors that plan to sell their stake, the sources said. Avenue, Harmony and Dubai Ventures, part of Dubai Group, bought a 34.6 percent stake in Mayapada bank in 2007 for about $60 million. Dubai Ventures sold its stake in 2010.
May’s market rout hurts many hedge fund managers (Reuters)
John Paulson, whose calls have been among the market’s most closely watched ever since he made a fortune betting against the housing market, said his Advantage Plus fund lost 6 percent. For Paulson, long-standing bets on financial institutions like Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC) brought down returns. Paul Tudor Jones, popular for his string of strong performances, saw his BVI Global Fund lose 3.4 percent last month. And David Einhorn, who made headlines last month with plans to become a minority owner of the Mets baseball team, reported a 0.00 percent return in May, leaving the Greenlight Capital Offshore fund down 2.32 percent for the year.
Ramius Alum Tees Up Equity Fund (HF Alert)
Josh Fischer, whose resume includes stints at Ramius Capital and SAC Capital, is set to launch a hedge fund on July 1 with more than $30 million.
Duquesne Capital alumnus Michael Perl began trading last month with about $150 million at his recently formed Harbor Bridge Capital of New York.
Looking Back at Third Point’s Surge (AR Alpha)
One year ago AR profiled $1.8 billion Pine River Capital Management, which was founded in a rural Minnesota cabin in 2002 with $5.3 million. Pine River has since flourished, growing to $4.4 billion as of May. The flagship multistrategy vehicle, Nisswa Fund, is up 8.32% through May.
Five years ago Steve Bardack, a senior technology analyst at Canyon Capital Advisors, left the $8.1 billion Los Angeles hedge fund shop to start technology long/short equity firm Strata Capital Management. Since inception, the flagship Strata Fund has produced a net annualized return of 7.08%
