If at first you don’t succeed, pay off some debt and try again (a few years later). Sure, it doesn’t sound right, but it does seem to accurately describe the situation at AngloGold Ashanti (AU), the #3 gold producer in the world, which according to Reuters, is once again looking to spinoff its South African mining assets into… Read More »
For most Americans months away from their 80th birthday, life has long since settled into a post-retirement routine. For Carl Icahn, who will turn 80 in February, he’s just getting started, going after larger targets than ever. Last week, Icahn announced he was forming a Super PAC with $150 million of his own money to promote legislation to… Read More »
Breakups seem to have become activists’ favorite tools when faced with an underperforming company. Following John Paulson’s pressure to Hartford to spin off its life business, Highfields Capital has disclosed it is in talks with Genworth Financial(GNW) with options that may include a spinoff of its mortgage insurance business. Highfields, a Boston-based hedge fund still run by co-founder… Read More »
In separate filings today, Dan Loeb, fresh off his successful fight for Yahoo(YHOO) board seats, revealed that he had increased his Sara Lee(SLE) stake, and John Paulson announced a new stake in the disappearing conglomerate. Sara Lee will be paying a special dividend of $3 per share and spinning off its coffee and tea business by June 30.… Read More »
Hedge fund Paulson & Co, whose activist battle to force The Hartford(HIG) to split itself in two was met by a restructuring plan by the company, has filed a form 13G indicating that its investment is once again passive. Paulson had previously said that the company’s new plan did not go far enough. A company spokesman stated that… Read More »
Whew! Time to exhale as the drama is finally over. Peyton Manning is signed, Tebow was traded and now Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG) will shed several business units in order to increase its focus on its profitable property & casualty business. While the group benefits and mutual fund businesses will also be retained, the annuity business will… Read More »
What do you do when your letters and pleas get ignored? Turn them into a presentation of course because pictures and charts are just so much harder to ignore. That seems to be superstar hedge fund manager John Paulson’s approach for turning up the heat on Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG). After having no success writing letters to… Read More »
Listening to (or reading) company conference calls are a necessary but often painful part of investing. Calls are usually filled with a bunch of numbers, some CEO speak and suck-up analysts (if the company is doing well) so anything out of the ordinary or even somewhat controversial becomes noteworthy. Throw in ‘legendary’ fund manager John Paulson and now… Read More »
NovaGold(NG) has a great story. It owns a 50% interest in the Donlin Gold project in Alaska, which a recent feasibility study projects can average 1.5 million ounces of production at $409/oz for the first 5 years, as well as two other major prospects. It has a market cap of over $2 billion. It counts George Soros, John… Read More »