Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE), Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE:FIG), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX), Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB)
Investing tycoon George Soros has bought a significant amount of stock in Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), further complicating Wall Street’s intense interest in the Los Angeles nutritional products company. He’s the latest hedge fund titan to line up for or against the stock since William Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, called Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) a pyramid scheme. Ackman bet $1 billion the company’s shares would fall. Soros, whose net worth was estimated at more than $19 billion by Forbes magazine this year, has been researching Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) for a year, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly. Soros Fund Management holds more than $8.5 billion in equities, according to a recent regulatory filing.
Sony to reject entertainment spinoff proposal (News24)
Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE)‘s board is likely to reject a US hedge fund’s proposal to spin off part of its profitable entertainment arm, a report said on Thursday, as the electronics giant prepares to report its quarterly results. …Some directors argued that Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) can compete better as a whole firm instead of hiving off part of the entertainment division, the Nikkei said without citing sources. US billionaire Daniel Loeb, who says his hedge fund Third Point has amassed the largest stake in Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE), called on the Japanese firm’s executives to spin-off up to 20% of the unit, which includes a music label and Hollywood movie studio.
David Einhorn clings to Apple amid concerns of market correction, Marcato Capital may see value in Sothebys real estate, Pharo Macro bets on Greek, Spanish and Italian debt turning sour (Opalesque)
David Einhorn clings to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) amid concerns of market correction From TheStreet.com: David Einhorn of hedge fund Greenlight Capital Management continues to hold an over $1 billion stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) as the long and short hedge fund braces for the prospect of a global market correction. “We continue to hold the positions that cost us the most in the quarter,” Einhorn said of the hedge fund’s holding of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares during the second quarter. Greenlight owns roughly 2.4 million Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares worth just in excess of $1 billion as of Monday’s close, according to first quarter data compiled by Bloomberg.
SAC Seen Avoiding $14 Billion Death Penalty From U.S. (Bloomberg)
The money-laundering complaint U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara filed against SAC Capital Advisors LP last week raised the prospect that all of the hedge fund’s $14 billion in assets may be subject to forfeiture. “The government couldn’t put Steve in jail,” said Michael Bachner, a defense attorney and former New York prosecutor. “But they decided to give his money the death penalty.” Bharara seeks forfeiture of “all right, title and interest” in all of SAC’s assets, should he prove his money-laundering case. Rulings interpreting the statute, however, suggest a less drastic outcome is possible for the Stamford, Connecticut-based hedge fund and its founder Steven Cohen.
Who Are Europe’s Hedge Fund Winners? (WSJ)
Want to know who the biggest hedge funds are in Europe? And what are the best performing strategies? A survey by our sister title Financial News lifts the lid. They’ve just done a ranking of the top 20 hedge funds by size based on overall assets under management, which puts Brevan Howard at the top, followed by BlueCrest in second and Man Group in third. Overall growth at the top 20 remained virtually flat in the past 12 months, dragged down by poor performance from managed futures strategies but boosted by buoyant equity markets.
Japan regulator says Singapore-based hedge fund manipulated share prices (Reuters)
A Singapore-based hedge fund manipulated prices in the Japanese equity market and should pay a 431 million yen ($4.38 million) fine, Japan’s securities regulator said, which would be biggest ever imposed against a non-Japanese firm for market manipulation. The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) said on Wednesday that Juggernaut Capital Management inflated the share price of real estate developer Rise Inc for 26 business days during March and April last year. Efforts to contact Juggernaut founder Yashwant Bajaj in Singapore were unsuccessful.
