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It sure was clever of GLG Partners’ to get Man Group to pay $1.6 billion for the pleasure of being conquered from within.
Now, this isn’t the first time a firm has paid handsomely for what amounts to a reverse-merger. And it has yet to prove as disastrous. But incoming Man CEO Manny Roman isn’t at all shy about making clear who took over who. Read more »
GLG Partners has completed its takeover of the Man Group from within, two years after Man paid $1.6 billion for the pleasure of sinking into irrelevance. Read more »
From the mailbag:
FYI, in the aftermath of the GLG buy, things are not good inside Man Group.
GLG Partners, the London-based hedge fund that’s seen what it would rather you not characterize as an ‘exodus’ of personnel over the last month, said it “hopes” to retain a modicum of assets from the emerging markets funds run by Greg Coffey, who resigned in April, and then withdrew his resignation, and then reinstated it. At the start of the year the value of Coffey’s funds was at about $7.2 billion, before dropping to $6.3 due to investment losses. Noam Gottesman, the co-chief executive of GLG who has been known to say out loud that his former employees cease to exist once they abandon him, commented, surprisingly lucidly and suspiciously calmly that the firm has received $1.7 billion in redemption requests so far, and that the worst case scenario will leave them with about $2 billion. “Obviously,” we’re sure he wanted to say but didn’t, choosing instead to give off an impression of sanity, “it’s not going to come to that, once investors get wind of this.”
Non-consultant consultants, non-existent former executives, non-departure departures. I give you…GLG Partners. The London-based hedge fund, whose “star” emerging markets fund manager, Greg Coffey, resigned and then took back his resignation and then resigned again all in one week’s time, has lost three more employees from its senior asset management team. Following in Coffey’s footsteps are Michael O’Connor, who traded Asian debt, equity, and convertible bonds, Udo Herschel, who worked on capital structure arbitrage, and Ben Gill, who was with the company for six years and who was most recently a global macro fund manager. Don’t take the mass exodus to mean anything, though, says GLG. The fund assured boutique shop Ladenburg Thalmann, which published a note about the surrealistic laugh factory this morning, that they’re really NBD. Sayeth LT:
“…management has informed us that one of these individuals had been dismissed several months ago and one individual was a consultant on the payroll and will remain a consultant, but not on the payroll. The status of the third individual is not clear as he is seeking to address some personal issues. We do not have basis to believe that there is some sort of exodus occurring at GLG.”
So, really, everyone should just chill. Also, don’t worry about the fact that GLG has delayed its shareholder meeting a month, now rescheduled to take place in early June. There’s a logical explanation for that which doesn’t have anything to do with the hedge fund going down– CEO Noam Gottesman, who, of former employee Philippe Jabre, told Bloomberg last year, “As far as I’m concerned, he doesn’t exist,” needs a few extra weeks to put the finishing touches on a power point presentation called “Former Individuals Under My Employ Who Are Now Dead To Me, Which Belies The Fact That THEY NEVER EXISTED IN THE FIRST PLACE. WHO DIDN’T EXIST IN THE FIRST PLACE? EXACTLY.” Sources tell DealBreaker he’s also still searching for a sufficiently regal-looking pointer with which to draw the audience’s attention to a larger than life projection of O’Connor’s head while noting, “Exhibit A,” and then, with great flourish, hitting delete.
More Executives Exit GLG Partners [Financial News]
GLG Partners announced today that standout portfolio manager and practical jokerster Greg Coffey, who resigned from the London-based hedge fund on April 14, only to withdraw his resignation on April 15, has once again decided to leave the firm. Like we’re going to fall for that one again.
Earlier: ‘I resign. No, no. I kid… I kid…’
GLG’s Coffey Quits Again [FINalternatives]
So much “just messing” at GLG partners these past couple days. The London-based hedge fund, which has been a public company for less than a year, said it would “redo” statements for 2006 and 2007 because it didn’t “properly account for limited partner profit.” According to an 8-K filed today—and I’m paraphrasing a bit but this was the gist:
“In 2006, net profit was $359.3 million. HA! Just fucking with ya. It was really only $157.9 million. 2007? Second verse, mostly same as the first: we said we made $92.6 million, we really lost $310.5 million. Did you see the look on your face! Priceless!”
Good stuff, but not really the funny part. Later in the filing, GLG indicates that on April 14, Greg Coffey, portfolio manger for the GLG Emerging Markets Fund, the GLG Emerging Markets Special Situations Fund, the GLG Emerging Currency and Fixed Income Fund and the GLG Emerging Equity Fund managed by the Company, “resigned from his positions with the Company’s GLG Partners LP subsidiary and certain affiliated entities (collectively, “GLG”).” A few lines later, it’s noted that on April 15, Coffey withdrew his resignation, and that the Gregster and the company “are in discussions concerning a range of options for the future,” including how to more effectively put the Gregmeister’s singular knack for pulling pranks to good (/profitable) use.
Also of note:
“The company took a charge of $1,242.93 for contractor fees related to moving services rendered to the company to move Mr. Coffey’s office furniture back into the building from the parking lot where it had been arranged in a configuration mimicking his actual office by persons unknown.”
GLG Partners 8-K [SEC]
GLG hedge fund to restate 2006, 2007 results [Reuters]
