In a newly-amended filing with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management disclosed increasing its position in Olin Corporation (NYSE:OLN), as it is about to complete its merger with Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW). The investor raised his position in Olin Corporation (NYSE:OLN) to over 4.94 million shares from 4.06 million shares held previously, according to the filing. Point72’s current stake is equal to 6.4% of Olin Corporation (NYSE:OLN)’s outstanding common stock.
Based in Connecticut, Point72 Asset Management is the legal successor of the hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors. It was launched in April 2014 with approximately $9 billion in initial capital, which represented Mr. Cohen’s personal wealth. SAC Capital was shut down in 2013 and paid a substantial fine to settle insider-trading charges. Point72 Asset Management, is prohibited from managing money for outside investors as part of the settlement with the Department of Justice. Point72 employs a long/short equity investing approach and makes significant quantitative and macro investments. According to the fund’s latest 13F filing with the SEC, Point72 manages an equity portfolio worth $14.67 billion as of March 31.
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Point72 stated in the filing that it acquired shares of Olin Corporation (NYSE:OLN) for investment purposes and it has no intentions to influence the control or management of the company.
Olin Corporation (NYSE:OLN) is a manufacturing company, with a market cap of $1.96-billion. It operates three business segments: Chlor Alkali Products, Chemical Distribution and Winchester. Last week, Olin Corporation (NYSE:OLN) reported that it received all the foreign regulatory approvals required to close its pending merger with Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW). Under the agreement, Olin Corporation (NYSE:OLN) has agreed to buy certain chlor alkali and downstream derivatives businesses from Dow using a Reverse Morris Trust structure. As part of the deal, Dow will first transfer its U.S. chlor alkali and vinyl, global chlorinated organics, and global epoxy businesses to a subsidiary. Next, the company will distribute the stock of that subsidiary to its shareholders through a split-off or spin-off or a combination. Then, the subsidiary will immediately merge with Olin.
What will Dow’s shareholders get from this deal? You can read it on the next page.
