Apollo Global Starts New Hedge Fund to Short Junk Bonds (WSJ)
Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE:APO) -2.27% LLC, the $159 billion private-equity giant, is starting a new hedge fund to bet against U.S. junk bonds, according to people familiar with the matter. The move comes amid rising demand this year for the riskiest corporate bonds from investors frustrated by low interest rates on historically safer investments. There have been signs lately, however, that the rally may be waning. Prices on bonds issued by lower-rated U.S. companies tumbled last week to a three-month low, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch index. Bond yields rise when their prices fall.
Hedge Fund Manager Wins Appeal Over Failed Oil Co. (Law360)
A Texas appeals court on Thursday affirmed a judgment dissolving Playa Oil & Gas GP LLC and ordering its former CEO to pay damages, attorneys’ fees and costs related to a failed partnership with a hedge fund manager. A three-judge panel dismissed Gary M. Beach’s arguments that a trial court erred in deciding that he and one of the entities under his control must pay damages, attorneys’ fees and costs in a dispute between Beach and his former business partner, New York hedge fund manager Paul…
Highland Holds Onto $2.8M Atty Fees In Fight With Ex-Exec (Law360)
A Texas state judge upheld a jury’s $2.8 million award of attorneys’ fees to Highland Capital Management LP against its former private equity head, who himself recovered $2.6 million from a Highland affiliate that had been set up for employee bonuses, bringing the long-running court fight to a close. Highland, a Dallas-based hedge fund and investment firm, had locked horns with the former head of its private equity division Patrick Daugherty since early 2012 over compensation terms and Daugherty’s alleged use of confidential Highland information to…
Jana Partners, Greenlight Capital report losses for July (Reuters)
Hedge fund managers Barry Rosenstein and David Einhorn, like many other investors, were hurt by last month’s late but sharp stock market selloff and are reporting losses for July, investors who saw their performance numbers said. Rosenstein’s Jana Partners funds lost 1.3 percent in July while his Jana Nirvana fund lost 1.7 percent. Meanwhile, David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital fell 2.9 percent last month. For the year, however, all those funds are still in the black…
San Francisco hedge fund buys 16.8% stake in Armstrong for $336M (LancasterOnline)
A fast-growing San Francisco hedge fund has become a major investor in Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI). ValueAct Capital has acquired 16.8 percent of Armstrong’s outstanding stock for $335.6 million, it was disclosed Friday. The fund said it bought the 9.2 million common shares “for investment purposes… in (its) ordinary course of business.” According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, ValueAct acquired its stake in nine transactions between July 21 and July 31.
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