Hedge funds target Australand (BusinessSpectator)
Australand Property Group’s receipt of a surprise all-cash takeover offer from Singapore-listed Frasers Centrepoint has prompted hedge funds to pour on to the target’s register and they now account for about 20 per cent of investors. Their interest has been prompted by Australand striking an agreement with Frasers to negotiate a binding deal within four weeks and the promise of the target’s first-half distribution being paid by June 24. JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) analysts have called the Frasers move a potential knockout blow for rival bidder Stockland which, despite holding 19.9 per cent of Australand, is tipped to walk away.
Ackman: My new friend Icahn should sell Herbalife (CNBC)
Bill Ackman has some advice for frenemy Carl Icahn: Sell your Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) stock. Now that he’s made up with Icahn, Ackman told CNBC on Monday he’s trying to get his hedge fund rival to sell Herbalife—a company that Ackman has waged a war against as a “pyramid scheme.” “I’d love to find [Icahn] a way out of Herbalife, because I think if he could get out now he’d have a very nice profit,” Ackman said in a “Squawk Box” interview. But he refused to comment on what Icahn said.
Deutsche Bank Vet Faces Huge Rate-Rigging Fine (Finalternatives)
A hedge fund employee is facing a big fine for allegedly attempting to rig interest rates while at Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB). The Financial Conduct Authority wants to fine Christian Bittar, who now works for BlueCrest Capital Management in Singapore, £10 million (US$17 million). The levy would be a record for an individual, nearly double the previous high. According to the FCA, Bittar sought to manipulate the euro interbank offered rate as part of a major rate-rigging scandal at top banks. The FCA is planning fines against seven other traders, Bloomberg News reports.
Former Hedge Manager Joel Dobberpuhl Goes Long on Impact Investing (InstitutionalInvestor)
As the manager of the Nashville, Tennessee, hedge fund firm Jetstream Capital, Joel Dobberpuhl spent his days chasing 20 percent returns. During the nine years between the time when he founded and then wound down the firm, his financial pursuits left him comfortably positioned to give back some wealth to society. Dobberpuhl, who is also one of the owners of National Hockey League’s Nashville Predators, is now trying to bridge capitalism and philanthropy. The Dobberpuhl family office invests for impact in cleantech companies, while the Peter Hawkins Dobberpuhl Foundation has pledged $26 million in support of a new investment program spearheaded by the Nature Conservancy, an Arlington, Virginia-based nonprofit and one of the world’s largest environmental organizations.
Copper Wagers Cut Most in Month as Metal Leads Losers (Bloomberg)
Hedge funds cut bullish copper bets by the most in a month on concern that a supply surplus will return as demand growth slackens in Europe and China. Money managers trimmed their net-long position by 24 percent to a four-week low. A probe into inventories in China spurred speculation that imports by the biggest consuming nation will drop, while the European Central Bank took unprecedented steps to combat deflation. Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS) anticipates that global supply will outpace demand from the fourth quarter.
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