Hedge fund big furious that his $98M penthouse isn’t selling (Page Six)
Embattled hedge fund titan Steven A. Cohen is freaking out that his Manhattan apartment, on the market at a bank-busting $98 million, just isn’t selling. Sources tell Page Six that Cohen is furious that his luxe four-bedroom duplex at 151 E. 58th St. hasn’t had a buyer after more than a year on the market, and he’s blaming his brokers. After putting it up for sale in April 2013 for $115 million, billionaire Cohen last December generously slashed $17 million off the pricey penthouse atop the Bloomberg Tower.
Hedge fund titans are testing the quality of US democracy (Financial Times)
John Paulson made his fortune by taking a massive short position against the US housing bubble. Today the hedge fund billionaire is betting that the US political system will fail. This time he has company. Other billionaires have launched a lawsuit to force the US Treasury to pay shareholders vast sums from the government-sponsored housing enterprises that it bailed out in 2008. Betting on Washington’s largesse has become a routine investment strategy. Whether this one works, aspiring billionaires should take note: if you want to strike it lucky, try shorting American democracy. The risk is small and the rewards are spectacular.
Third Point’s Loeb Says Harder to Gain on Mortgages (Bloomberg)
Billionaire hedge-fund manager Dan Loeb said he’s targeting junior debt of financial firms and assets being divested by banks as he scales back securities such as mortgage bonds. “It’s gotten much more difficult to make money in mortgages, and asset-backed securities generally,” Loeb said today on a conference call for Third Point Reinsurance Ltd (NYSE:TPRE) “We have largely taken profits in our re-remic portfolio and we’ve mostly redeployed that capital elsewhere.” Re-remics are securities, created from other mortgage bonds, that divide the debt into safer and riskier pieces.
Ackman Gains 38% on Valeant Deal To Buy Allergan (Wall Street Journal)
Hedge-fund manager William Ackman is already up about 38% on his unconventional bid to back Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) ‘s takeover bid for Botox maker Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN). Mr. Ackman, founder of $13.7 billion Pershing Square Capital Management LP, said at a private event earlier this week that he was up that sum on the Allergan wager less than one month after the unusual deal became public, according to people familiar with his remarks. The gains add up to almost $1 billion in paper profits, a person familiar with the firm said.
LightSquared Bankruptcy Plan Rejected, Ergen’s Debt To Be Subordinated (FINalternatives)
A federal bankruptcy judge dealt a blow to Harbinger Capital Partners’ effort to hold on to its wireless Internet venture, ordering it to the negotiating table with a bitter rival. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman rejected LightSquared’s reorganization plan, a $2.65 billion proposal, backed by Fortress Investment Group, that would have allowed the company to exit bankruptcy after two years. Chapman found that the plan violated bankruptcy law by treating LightSquared’s biggest creditor, DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH) Chairman Charles Ergen, unfairly.
M&A frenzy hits the Street (CNBC.com)
