Williams Advances After Icahn Protege Seeks Seat on Board (BusinessWeek)
Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB), the U.S. pipeline operator that’s underperformed its peers this year, climbed after becoming the latest energy company to be targeted by activist investors. Williams rose as much as 5.7 percent today after Corvex Management LP, founded by Carl Icahn protege Keith Meister, and Soroban Master Fund LP said in a filing yesterday that they had amassed a collective 8.82 percent interest. The hedge funds, now the largest shareholder of Williams, are pressing for changes. Energy companies from Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG) to Talisman Energy Inc. (USA) (NYSE:TLM) have been challenged by activist shareholders this year who believe they have failed to realize the value of reserves. Meister and Soroban’s Eric Mandelblatt, the former co-chief executive officer of TPG-Axon Capital Management LP, are seeking board seats at Williams.
Amazon? ‘I’m not so convinced’: Hedge fund manager (CNBC)
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) never seems to be able to generate profits, yet the investing public continues to be amazingly tolerant, said Paul Isaac, founder of the $900 million hedge fund Arbiter Partners. “People are looking for growth, and they see revenue growth. They buy into the idea of eventual profitability. But I’m not so convinced,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday. Amazon falls into a category of “growth model 4.0” companies that “theoretically are going to grow into great profitability,” Isaac argued, saying, in the meantime, they’re “funded through a combination of negative working capital dynamics [and] stock-based compensation.”
Orange County Employees starts search for hedge fund managers (PIOnline)
Orange County Employees Retirement System, Santa Ana, Calif., launched an RFI for macro uncorrelated hedge fund managers for the $11 billion pension fund. OCERS officials will compare fee information for a $100 million commitment. Officials are issuing the RFI to evaluate hedge funds that could provide diversification through macro uncorrelated or idiosyncratic return strategies. The RFI is part of a three-pronged approach that includes market scans by its general consultant, NEPC, and its hedge fund consultant, Aksia. OCERS will also undertake two separate but coordinated database searches by the consultants. Each consultant will provide a shortlist of potential candidates for OCERS’ investment staff.
Vanity Fair Exposes Mystery Car Crash of Dan Loeb in Cuba (JewishVoiceNY)
Vanity Fair has done it again – written another expose. The subject for this occurrence is billionaire hedge fund manager Daniel S. Loeb. In the current December issue of Vanity Fair, writer William D. Cohan writes that the 51-year-old Third Point LLC founder Loeb was detained in Cuba after “hitting a local kid with his car” during a long weekend trip, according to both Page Six and Vanity Fair. The article investigates the mysterious 2002 car crash of Loeb’s while he was on a Cuba trip with friends. Cohan writes in the article: “Things unexpectedly took a dark turn . . . “Cuban authorities had refused to allow him to leave.” Asked what had happened, Loeb told me . . . that he had been involved in a car accident, stuck around for a couple more weeks, had a legal hearing, and -everything turned out fine.”
Analyst Labels EA ‘Dangerous’ Investment (Gameranx)
Analyst David Trainer has come out under investment blog Diligence Institute to talk about EA’s dire financial prospects. Trainer goes so far as to call its stocks a dangerous investment. Before you ask about his prospects, Trainer is a hedge fund manager and CEO of New Constructs, an independent research firm that specializes in getting key insights from financial footnotes and annual reports. He also talks about being a gamer himself. Trainer observes EA’s stocks tumble early last week after DICE’s announcement that they were halting future projects to fix Battlefield 4.
Funds buy shipping loans from capital-conscious banks (Reuters)
After a five-year slump in shipping, investors are betting on better times by taking over shipowners’ debts from European banks keen to offload troubled loans to bolster their balance sheets. Forecasts of a pick-up in world trade in goods, after the worst slide in decades helped drive some major shipping firms to the wall, are driving interest from hedge funds and others, while pressure on European banks to satisfy new capital regulations next year has created a pool of willing sellers. With the World Trade Organization forecasting growth of 2.5 percent for 2013 and 4.5 percent next year in merchandise exports – 90 percent of which go by sea – some investors have also been buying ships. But, for many, buying the paper debts of shipping firms offers a more flexible, liquid asset.
Recommended Reading:
Joho Capital Initiates Passive Stake in 58.com Inc (WUBA)
Baker Bros. Strengthens Position in Seattle Genetics, Inc. (SGEN)
