Hedge Fund News: Leon Cooperman, Bill Ackman, Platinum Partners

Cooperman May Stick Client With Part of Legal Bill (Bloomberg)
Leon Cooperman, the hedge fund billionaire accused of insider trading by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, may turn to his investors as a last resort to help defray the costs of his legal battle with the government. Cooperman’s Omega Advisors is withholding less than 1 percent of assets being redeemed to cover legal costs if they far exceed what he’s expecting, according to investors who asked not to be identified because the firm is private. He told clients he anticipates his insurance will cover all the expenses, and if necessary he’ll spend some of his own money.

Ackman’s Fund Says Employee’s Donation To Mass. Politician May Have Violated Law (Reuters)
Hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management said in a regulatory filing made public on Tuesday that U.S. authorities were looking at whether a 2013 campaign donation by a former employee to a Massachusetts politician violated federal campaign finance laws. The fund run by William Ackman, which said it did not believe the donation violated the rule in question, asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to exempt it from the penalty for that violation, having to pay back tens of millions of dollars in fees it earned for managing money for the Massachusetts state pension fund.

U.S. Probes Hit Defunct Energy Co Linked To Platinum Partners (Reuters)
At least four U.S. agencies are investigating former officials of a now-bankrupt oil and gas company once majority owned by troubled hedge fund manager Platinum Partners, according to a legal filing submitted last week. In a motion filed with federal bankruptcy court on Nov. 23, a group of 10 directors, officers and employees of Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations LLC [BLCELB.UL] said an undisclosed number of them had incurred costs from investigations by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn, New York, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Postal Service.

Coliseum Capital In Talks Over Potential Performance Sports Deal (Reuters)
Hedge fund Coliseum Capital Management LLC, the third-largest shareholder of Performance Sports Group Ltd, said it was in talks with a third party related to a potential deal involving the maker of Bauer ice hockey gear. Performance Sports, which filed for bankruptcy protection in October, has received a “stalking horse” bid from its largest shareholder Sagard Capital Partners LP and Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. A “stalking horse” bid is an opening offer that other interested bidders must surpass if they want to buy the company.