Phil Falcone Didn't Battle His Way To The Top Bunk To Sit On The Side Lines

As many of you know, Phil Falcone is a hedge fund manager (and pig owner) currently serving a five-year time out from the securities industry. And while some investment professionals might be content to view the ban by the SEC as a vacation, Falcone is using the sabbatical to plot his comeback. Not because his reputation/legacy is at all in question, just because he wants to dance on the f*cking graves of anyone who's ever doubted him.

In an interview, Mr. Falcone said he was aiming to “go out and acquire companies and build on that,” creating value through growth in diverse industries. “I feel like, not that I have a lot to prove, but I look at this vehicle as ‘success is the best revenge,’ ” he added.

If anyone is skeptical of what the Harbinger founder is capable of, go ask his 8 older siblings, who were doing his god damn bidding by the time he was 6 months old.

Mr. Falcone faces hurdles at HC2, which has been hampered by his history and has already encountered a few setbacks. After quadrupling in price based on its debt-financed acquisitions, its stock has fallen by 40 percent this summer amid sales by a large investor. And a $195 million takeover bid that could have doubled HC2’s size was rejected recently. And the results at his first comeback, a larger public-company vehicle he started six years ago, were underwhelming. Still, Mr. Falcone is undeterred. “People kind of look at me as I am unbelievably aggressive, and I probably do make some people nervous,” Mr. Falcone, a former Harvard hockey center, said in a large conference room in his Park Avenue office for which he pays part of the rent because HC2 alone is not big enough to afford it. Explaining his motivation, he said, “I’m a competitor. I think I’m an unbelievable competitor.” He added, “As the youngest of nine kids in a three-bedroom house, I learned how not to give up.”

Any questions?

Philip Falcone, Former Head of Vast Fund, Tries a 3rd Act [Dealbook]