Strange Days for Activist Engagements

DealFlow Media

In addition to the usual governance disputes, there have been some strange and even alarming activist developments recently.

Russian officials are demanding permission to search Hermitage Capital founder William Browder’s home in London, according to a report from The Moscow Times. Browder, a “crusading minority shareholder”, was barred from Russia for national security reasons in 2005, according to the report.

Hermitage’s efforts to combat alleged government corruption led to the death of the fund’s attorney, Sergei Magnitsky, in a Russian prison last year. In April, an 83-year-old Russian political activist was threatened with physical violence for criticizing the government’s handling of the matter. Further more, Hermitage alleges that Russian officials embezzled $230 million from Russian companies Hermitage and HSBC invested in.

Jamison Firestone, co-founder of Magnitsky’s firm, was appalled at what he deems efforts by the Russian government to dismiss charges against officials before a proper investigation has taken place. “It is absolutely absurd and inappropriate that any conclusions have been reached about Sergei’s arrest or death before investigating all the complaints,” Firestone told Bloomberg. “This can only be the result of corruption or stupidity.”

A spirited but non-violent form of nationalism informed remarks activist Daniel Loeb expressed in a letter to Third Point LLC investors, according to Dealbreaker. Loeb used quotations from Thomas Jefferson and Ronald Reagan to load a rhetorical blunderbuss and open fire on the regulatory efforts of the current administration.

Loeb blasted the government for chilling consumer confidence, allowing academics to devise baroque regulation, and investing in recovery options that foster corruption. In closing, Loeb archly couched the possibility of the government’s coming to its senses in an elaborate when-hell-freezes-over scenario. “Perhaps too, a cloven-hoofed bristly haired mammal will become airborne and the rosette-like marking of a certain breed of ferocious feline will become altered.”

Hedge fund investor John Paulson went hunting with cash rather than words, loading up on shares of NovaGold Resources.

But analysis from Business Insider says Paulson’s investment puts him in rare agreement with Scion Capital founder Michael Burry, whose view of the future last coalesced with Paulson’s when both investors reaped tremendous gains by shrewd credit default insurance trades during the sub-prime credit debacle.

Paulson already had a NovaGold stake, but Seeking Alpha says Paulson’s most recent regulatory filing indicates a change from passive to activist investing. займ онлайн на карту без отказа hairy women https://zp-pdl.com/how-to-get-fast-payday-loan-online.php www.zp-pdl.com buy over the counter medicines