When hedge fund guru speaks, the world listens (WAToday)
The short sellers’ favourite short seller, Jim Chanos packs more punch than the $US6 billion in funds he oversees. The market veteran first came to prominence in Australia by raising doubts over the Macquarie model – precisely as the investment bank’s share price was marching steadily towards $100. At the time, Chanos told a gathering of New York hedge funds that his Kynikos Associates had sold off its Macquarie holdings, declaring the investment bank had ”an inherently unstable platform” and saying it ”doesn’t care what it pays” for the infrastructure assets it acquired on behalf of its unlisted and listed funds.
Hedge fund to back Chinese takeover of Smithfield (GlobalPost)
Starboard Value said Friday it was giving up its attempt to block the sale of US pork giant Smithfield foods to China’s Shuanghui, making approval of the $7.1 billion takeover likely. The hedge fund said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was not able to bring together an alternative bid in time before the September 24 Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE:SFD) shareholder vote on the deal.
Co-op forced to consider hedge fund plan (TheGuardian)
Two US hedge funds have forced the Co-operative Bank to set up an independent committee to review the American investors’ plan to turn the 140-year-old mutually owned bank into a listed company. One of the hedge funds, Aurelius Capital Management, is best known for a long-running battle to force Argentina to pay out $1.3bn (£800m) while Silver Point Capital has been linked to a number of troubled financial firms such as Lehman and Iceland’s Glitnir.
Jana Partners Discloses Safeway Stake (PerishableNews)
Hedge fund Jana Partners LLC disclosed in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that it had acquired a 6.2 percent stake in grocery chain Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY). Jana said it has held talks with Safeway management about reviewing strategic alternatives for the Pleasanton, California-based company and that its shares are undervalued. The hedge fund also said it has spoken with Safeway about exiting lower margin geographies. Safeway said on Tuesday it had adopted a so-called poison pill to prevent an unwanted takeover of the company.
Buffett Calls Federal Reserve History’s Greatest Hedge Fund (Bloomberg)
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett compared the U.S. Federal Reserve to a hedge fund because of the central bank’s ability to profit from bond purchases while accumulating a balance sheet of more than $3 trillion. “The Fed is the greatest hedge fund in history,” Buffett told students yesterday at Georgetown University in Washington. It’s generating “$80 billion or $90 billion a year probably” in revenue for the U.S. government, he said. “And that wasn’t the case a few years back.”
Nikkei: Third Point to put Sony shares under own name (HedgeWorld)
Activist investor Daniel Loeb’s Third Point LLC will re-register a chunk of its shares in Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) under its own name, allowing the hedge fund group to file shareholder resolutions and take other steps to push for better management, the Nikkei reported, quoting people familiar with the matter. The move follows Sony’s rejection last month of a proposal by Loeb that the electronics giant spin off part of its entertainment business. New York-based Third Point owns about 7 percent of Sony under different names.
