Deals wrap: The perils of Paulson
Hedge fund manager John Paulson became an overnight sensation in 2007, in part, by betting big and early on the collapse of the U.S. housing market. But he is now emerging as one of this year’s big losers in the $2 trillion hedge fund industry.
New China Life, the third-largest life insurer in China, has filed an application to list in a dual Hong Kong and Shanghai IPO, sources said, braving volatile markets to raise up to $4 billion.
Bank of America has held exploratory talks with the principal investment funds of Kuwait and Qatar about selling part of its $17 billion stake in China Construction Bank, three sources with direct knowledge of the talks told Reuters.
Investment banker say banks are barely making any money selling Treasury’s shares in bailed-out companies like General Motors and American International Group. As the Treasury thinks about selling the billions worth of shares that remain, Wall Street bankers are worried about profits.
Hedge funds are getting an unfamiliar taste of losing, reports the NYT.
The stock market squeeze is threatening to take the air out of AT&T’s best argument for the regulatory approval of its $39-billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA,” reports the Los Angeles Times
Deals wrap: Capital One beefs up credit card portfolio
HSBC is nearing a deal to sell its $30 billion-plus U.S. credit card business to Capital One, sources familiar with the situation said.
Investors who bet big money on the outcome of merger and acquisition deals are scurrying as a plunging stock market jeopardizes many transactions.
Even hedge fund superstars who outsmarted the housing collapse and battered financial sector might soon be telling their investors that they suffered double-digit losses during the last few days, managers and investors forecast.
“Nestle, the Swiss company said to be preparing a bid for Pfizer’s baby-food unit, may aim to regain momentum in China’s infant formula market by acquiring the maker of SMA Gold,” reports Bloomberg.
Deals wrap: News Corp in play?
Reuters’ blogger Felix Salmon asks the question: “Could News Corp end up in play?”
British group Aegis, one of the last independent advertising agencies, could fall prey to a larger rival if it sells its Synovate unit, with major shareholder Vincent Bollore in the role of kingmaker.
American International Group is looking to sell part of its airplane-leasing business through an initial public offering, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The New Yorker profiles Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio.
Deals wrap: Zynga files for IPO
Zynga Inc filed paperwork for an initial public offering on Friday, the latest in a series of hot social media companies to seek capital in the U.S. public markets. The company, which is behind a series of popular games on Facebook, said it hoped to raise up to $1 billion. It did not specify the number of shares it plans to sell or give an expected price range.
A group including Apple, Research In Motion and Microsoft will pay $4.5 billion to snatch Nortel Networks’ patents from under the noses of Google and Intel, stealing a march on their rivals in a litigious market. Bankrupt Nortel had put up for sale 6,000 patents and patent applications in the largest public sale of its kind, a potential treasure trove for latecomers to the market such as Apple, Google and Intel.
Belgium’s KBC Group is expecting around eight to 10 first-round offers for its private banking arm KBL, people familiar with the matter said, after attempts to sell the business for $1.9 billion failed in March. Bidders are expected to include corporate suitors and private equity firms from across the globe, the person said, and a shortlist for the next round will be drawn up in about a week.
Investors are asking for more of their money back from hedge funds in June than in any other month in 2011 as fund returns hit by May’s commodity rout shake client confidence, according to data by hedge fund services firm GlobeOp.
Can a sports franchise be run like a hedge fund? That’s what Tom Gores, head of Los Angeles-based private equity fund Platinum Equity, is attempting to do with the Detroit Pistons after firing the NBA team’s chief executive and filling the job with a pair of Platinum Equity partners. According to NYT’s DealBook these moves “are straight out of the private equity playbook.”
Deals wrap: Dodgers strike out
The Los Angeles Dodgers filed for bankruptcy protection, blaming Major League Baseball for refusing to approve a television deal with News Corp’s Fox Network to give the financially strapped baseball team a quick injection of cash.
The WSJ’s DealBook reports the best part of the filing is who the Dodgers owe money to. Manny Ramirez is owed $21 million.
London Stock Exchange boss Xavier Rolet faces a crucial test this week as TMX Group owners vote on their planned merger with the LSE – a deal on a knife-edge that is likely to define his tenure.
Green is back in venture capital circles — but call it light green. Most venture investors are now shying away from clean-tech companies that require huge amounts of capital, Nichola Groom and Sarah McBride report.
Snatching up a well-managed and profitable solar company, however, has crept up the agenda of every global energy player trying to expand its solar portfolio in a post-Fukushima world.
More Asian hedge funds are hiring executives to police rapid-fire computer trades and nimble bets made by portfolio managers, with the goal of enticing some of the billions of dollars that institutions are looking to invest.
Deals wrap: VCs think IPO activity low
More than 80 percent of venture capitalists believe the initial public offering market is at very weak levels and it is curbing profits, according to a new survey.
Online video site Hulu has been approached by a potential buyer and is weighing whether to sell itself, according to a person familiar with the matter. GigaOM lists the possible candidates and the merits of a deal for each company.
Taiwan regulators rejected Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co’s $1.6 billion joint management buyout of electronics component maker Yageo Corp, a decision that may cast a shadow over other private equity involvement in the island.
Hedge fund managers are sifting through the rubble of the deepening Greek debt crisis to find money-making opportunities, though political uncertainty makes it a risky business.
Bridgewater Associates, the world’s biggest hedge fund, is close to launching a $10 billion fund, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The best trader in the world worked for Bernie Madoff, writes The Altucher Confidential.
Deals wrap: Galleon trial to be a “battle royal”
The insider trading case against Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam finally goes to trial next week. Rajaratnam faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of conspiracy and securities fraud but plans to fight the charges and clear his name in court.
“All signs are pointing to a battle royal,” one securities attorney said of the upcoming trial in an interview with Reuters correspondent Grant McCool. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein has agreed to testify for the U.S. government at the trial. Here’s a rundown of some of the other main players involved in the case.
Should Americans be alarmed that Germany’s Deutsche Boerse is taking over Big Board parent NYSE Euronext? Not really seems to be the consensus with lawmakers and regulators who took part in the Reuters Future Face of Finance Summit this week.
Fresh signs that Chrysler is getting closer to going public again. The automaker is in advanced talks with banks on financial details that will help clear the way for the initial public offering later this year, several people with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters.
“Two months into the year, M&A is off to its best start since Lehman failed and the flow of deals slowed to a trickle,” writes WSJ’s Stephen Grocer.
Deals wrap: Betting big on gas
BHP Billiton struck a deal to buy shale gas reserves from Chesapeake Energy for $4.75 billion, pitting itself against oil giants and China in the battle for the fast-growing energy source in North America.
China should account for 8-9 percent of global mergers and acquisition activity this year, continuing close to its strong levels in 2009 and 2010, JPMorgan’s head of China M&A said Tuesday.
Europe is braced for a flurry of stock market listings in the next two months as firms use annual results as launching pads for share sales — and hope to complete deals before investors disappear for the Easter break.
Hedge funds are betting the current environment in Japan is ideal for strategies such as event-driven and long/short, given that many companies are trading at low valuations and funding is cheap — optimal conditions for M&As.
The possibility of any imminent mergers or significant tie-ups involving the Shanghai or Shenzhen stock exchanges looks remote given both are directly controlled by the government.
Wall Street wisdom suggests investors who turn away juicy takeover offers end up losing out. Yet some recently aborted deals haven’t turned out so badly for shareholders of the targets, reports Reuters Breakingviews.
Deals wrap: Taiwan’s tough market
Three Taiwanese life insurance assets worth $2.5 billion are up for grabs, but a rash of exits by foreign firms and picky regulators could make investors think twice about a deal, write Faith Hung and Denny Thomas. *View article
“With its options running out and time running out, Potash Corp may soon have little choice but to negotiate with BHP Billiton over the $39 billion bid that the world’s largest fertilizer supplier has flatly rejected,” write Euan Rocha and Michael Erman. *View article *View article on Yara open to buying Potash Corp assets
Andrew Ross Sorkin interviews Felix Rohatyn. The veteran investment banker has “grown uneasy about his own industry and perhaps himself,” writes Sorkin. *View NYT article
Is the private equity industry on the verge of a shakeout? The Deal looks at which firms are in peril. *View article
Is a hedge fund investment firm touted as being controlled by women really run a man? *View article
Deals wrap: Exiting AIG
AIGs exit plan with the government is good for the company but taxpayers may not be getting an equally good deal, writes columnist Richard Beales. *View column *View graphic *View WSJ report on how the exit plan was formed
Chinese refiner Sinopec will buy 40 percent of Repsol’s Brazilian arm for $7.1 billion. *View article *View factbox on China’s M&A activity
“Tucked away in a basement in London’s exclusive Mayfair district is a hedge fund manager investing entirely in raw materials, one of a small band trading commodity spreads and making big money in the process,” writes Christopher Johnson and Joe Brock. *View analysis
Private equity has experienced a comeback, but some issues will need to be addressed to maintain the momentum, writes The New York Times. *View NYT article
