Shire PLC (ADR), Allergan, Inc., Time Warner Cable Inc: John Paulson’s Top Merger Picks

Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC)‘s stake also rose by 18% in the fund’s portfolio. The 1.37 million shares of Time Warner Cable that were added during the fourth quarter put the tally of the stake at 8.70 million which amounted to $1.32 billion. The position comprised 6.83% of the fund’s portfolio value.

The provider of video, high-speed data and voice services has seen its stock price decline by nearly 3.3% year-to-date, and is awaiting regulatory approval of its purchase by Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA). While the company’s $7.52 billion in revenue missed the estimated revenue mark by $30 million, EPS for the fourth quarter beat the estimates by $0.04 and stood at $0.98.

Covidien plc (NYSE:COV)‘s stake declined by 20% in the fund as it offloaded some 2.55 million shares to put the total at just over 10.0 million shares. The market value of the position, which forms 5.31% of the portfolio value stood at about $1.03 billion. Frank Brosens‘ Taconic Capital also has a significant stake in the company amounting to 9.65 million shares, which have a market value of $987 million.

The health care products company, which was recently purchased by Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT) for $42.9 billion, has a market cap of $48.98 billion and its shares are up nearly 4% year-to-date. In its first quarter results for fiscal 2015, Covidien beat EPS estimates by $0.06 and posted an EPS of $1.11. However, the revenues came in $30 million light and stood at $2.69 billion.

Paulson also expanded his position in DIRECTV (NASDAQ:DTV) by purchasing an additional 11.4 million shares, taking the contribution of the provider of digital television entertainment in the fund’s portfolio to 5.10%. The market value of the position stood at $988 million.

The company’s stock price is nearly flat since the beginning of this year. However, fourth quarter results were impressive as both the EPS and revenues, which stood at $1.53 and $8.92 billion respectively, beat the estimates. DIRECTV was purchased by AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) for a total of $67 billion, including the assumption of DIRECTV’s $18.6 billion in net debt. That deal is still await regulatory approval.

Disclosure: None