In a 13G filing, Thomas Steyer’s Farallon Capital declared its ownership of 451,000 Shares of Gleacher & Company Inc (NASDAQ:GLCH), which represent 7.3% of the company’s Common Stock. This is a new holding for the fund, which valued at approximately $5.1 million, is placed amongst the smallest bets of the fund.
Gleacher & Company Inc (NASDAQ:GLCH) is a $70 million market cap investment bank with no revenue-producing operations at the time. It previously operated an investment banking business, offering fixed-income sales and trading, and financial advisory services. Farallon’s filing follows the announcement of the company’s financial results for the first quarter. Gleacher posted a net loss of $4.8 million, or ($0.78) per share. So, why the bet, you might ask:
The management announced in March that its Board of Directors decided that “it is in the best interests of the stockholders for the company to dissolve, liquidate and distribute to stockholders its available assets,” according to a statement. Although the dissolution is subject to stockholder approval on May 29, 2014, Farrallon’s bet must be placed on the occurrence of such dissolution.
Other funds laying a wager on Gleacher & Company Inc (NASDAQ:GLCH) (or maybe, its dissolution) are Curtis Schenker and Craig Effron’s Scoggin Capital Management, with 550,516 shares (up 32% over the last reported quarter), and Anton Schutz’s Mendon Capital Advisors, which recently started a position in the stock with 502,300 shares.
Farallon Capital Management is a fund with around $4.83 billion in equity portfolio, which seeks to achieve superior risk-adjusted returns through a process of bottom-up fundamental analysis that emphasizes capital preservation. Farallon’s latest 13F filing reveals a strong focus on services stocks and, to a lesser extent, on technology stocks. Its most valuable holding is Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC), of which the fund owns 2.43 million shares, worth about $330 million, followed by Hudson Pacific Properties Inc (NYSE:HPP), of which it holds 12.23 million shares, worth approximately $287 million.
Disclosure: none
