McKesson trying to appease hedge fund on Celesio buyout (FiercePharma Manufacturing)
U.S.-based McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) would just like to finalize its $8 billion-plus deal for German drug wholesaler Celesio so that it can try to catch up to competitor AmerisourceBergen Corp. (NYSE:ABC) in Europe. But Paul Singer, practiced in the art of taking advantage of takeovers, is not about to let that happen without getting something extra for his hedge fund, Elliott Management. Elliott has taken a big enough stake to short-circuit the buyout, and McKesson is trying to negotiate a special deal with the fund so it will support McKesson’s takeover of Celesio, Reuters reports, citing sources. They are telling Reuters that Celesio’s largest shareholder, “debt ridden” Franz Haniel & Cie, may give up something in favor of Elliott so the deal can close by its Thursday night deadline.
The 30 Most Successful Hedge Funds On Wall Street In 2013 (Business Insider)
What’s a new year without a scoreboard check? The February issue of Bloomberg Markets Magazine contains its annual ranking of the 100 best performing large ($1 billion-plus AUM) hedge funds of the previous year. We have the top 30 for you here. In 2013, only 16 hedge funds were able to outperform the S&P 500, and for the most part those 16 did the same thing — go long stocks all the way. The number one spot belongs to Larry Robbins, the CEO of Glenview Capital. His fund finished the year on top with an astonishing 84 percent return. While some managers were nervous and held on to cash, Glenview bet that Obamacare would pump up healthcare stocks and ran with that.
US hedge fund industry pushing derivatives regulator to lift ad ban (Reuters)
The U.S. hedge fund industry is making a fresh lobbying push to convince the federal derivatives regulator to remove a hurdle that could prevent private funds from advertising to new investors through television, the Internet or other channels. The concern is that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has outdated rules on its books that conflict with a 2012 law that lifted an 80-year-old ad ban for hedge funds and other private investment vehicles. While the Securities and Exchange Commission revamped its rules in July to formally lift the ban, funds are concerned that the CFTC has not updated a parallel rule that prohibits the private funds it directly oversees from advertising to the general public.
Dean Ventures Launches $74M Hedge Fund (FINalternatives)
Vienna, VA-based investment manager Dean Ventures Management has raised $74 million for a hedge fund, Dean Ventures 20, according to regulatory filings. Dean Wilde, CEO of Dean Ventures Management, and James Smist, president, are former Mercer Management Consulting colleagues who co-founded Dean & Company Strategy Consultants in 1993. Wilde also serves as managing director, CEO and chairman at DC Energy, a commodity investor and trader founded in 2002, and is a visiting professor of strategy at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Meritage Capital Launches Firm’s First Alternative Mutual Fund (Fort Mills Times)
Meritage Capital, LLC launched its first alternative mutual fund today. The Insignia Macro Fund seeks long-term risk adjusted return by employing global macro-managed futures investment strategies. The fund is unique from other liquid alternative macro offerings primarily because of its allocation to discretionary focused managers. The Meritage team has over 50 years of collective experience dynamically allocating capital to global macro managers across a variety of investment styles. According to Hedge Fund Research, global macro strategies were one of the top performing investment strategies in 2007 and 2008, during which many investors suffered losses from over-exposure to equity markets.
