American Hedge Fund Elliott Buys Stake in Prezzo
Elliott Management, an activist hedge fund, continues to grow its business with the acquisition of 3.1 percent stake in Prezzo, a chain of Italian restaurants in the United Kingdom, which is being bought by private equity firm TPG.
The
activist fund on Friday disclosed that it had built a near 3.1pc
interest in Prezzo via contracts for difference. The position was taken
on Thursday, the same day that Prezzo agreed to be acquired in a deal
that some think undervalues the company.
The
price of the contracts is 124p and, given TPG has offered 126½p a share
for Prezzo, Elliott may simply be taking advantage of the spread, one
observer said, adding that it is unlikely, but, possible that the fund
has other intentions.
TPG
has the support of 62pc of shareholders and so needs to persuade
another 13pc of investors to agree the acquisition. Prezzo shares were
unchanged at 124¼p. An Elliott spokesman declined to comment.
More
broadly, the benchmark FTSE 100 closed up 16.09 points to 6,567.24. The
index ran as high as 6,608 during the session but lost ground after
traders picked up on reports that Russian tanks had crossed the into
eastern Ukraine.
Source: The Telegraph
