The Man Group, the world’s largest publicly traded hedge fund, agreed on Monday to acquire a rival hedge fund investment manager in the latest in a wave of consolidation in the industry. In an unusual deal, Man will not pay anything up front for the FRM Holdings Group, which is based in London. Instead, there will be staggered payments that depend on FRM’s ability to retain assets as the firms merge over the next three years. Ultimately, the acquisition could cost about $83 million.
Rubicon Hedge Fund Sues Ex-Traders at ‘War’ to Control Firm (Businessweek)
Rubicon Fund Management LLP said two former traders tried to overthrow the hedge fund’s management after its founder was badly injured in a horse-riding accident, according to a U.K. lawsuit. Rubicon is seeking as much as 105 million pounds ($166 million) from Timothy Attias and Santiago Alarco, who had been interim co-chief investment officers before leaving to set up their own company in 2011. Their conduct and subsequent departure led investors to take more than $1 billion out of Rubicon’s master fund, the company said.
Former Diamondback Fixed Income Team To Launch New Fund (WSJ)
Aesir Capital Management LLC, formed by the former fixed income group of troubled hedge fund Diamondback Capital Management, will start a new fund next month, according to information sent to investors. Aesir Credit Master Fund Ltd., led by Chief Executive and Chief Investment Officer Mark Fishman, is a fixed income hedge fund. Investments will target liquid, actively traded credit markets, including investment-grade and high-yield bonds and emerging markets credits, the document said. …Fishman, a former star bond trader at hedge-fund titan SAC Capital, also had his own share of woes. Sailfish LLC, a hedge fund he partly ran, was forced to close as the firm, like some other investors, were caught holding debt securities it thought were relatively safe and easy to trade, but impossible to sell during the financial crisis.
Paulson Banking Experts Plan Hedge Fund (Finalternatives)
Two Paulson & Co. banking specialist are set to launch a financials hedge fund, despite the difficulties their portfolios have had at the New York hedge fund. Robert Lacoursiere and James Fotheringham have founded Petrarca Capital. The two men, who joined Paulson in 2008, told potential clients in a marketing documents that they had managed about $10 billion at Paulson, which once managed almost $40 billion but now has closer to $22 billion.
Hedge Funds Circle as Japan’s Asset Bubble Grows (Bloomberg)
It’s limbo, Japanese-style: How low can bond yields go without triggering a meltdown? This question gains urgency as 10-year government yields disappear before the world’s eyes. At 0.83 percent, the lowest level since 2003, they hardly compensate investors for the risks inherent in buying IOUs from the most indebted nation. Public debt is more than twice the size of the $5.5 trillion economy. Worse, it’s still growing. Ignore news that Japan’s gross domestic product rose an annualized 4.1 percent from the final three months of 2011. The only reason Japan is growing at all is excessive borrowing and zero interest rates. The moment Japan trims its debt, growth plunges, deflation deepens and politicians will demand that the Bank of Japan do more. That’s been Japan’s lot for 20 years now.
