Refco Payout May Add Up To Zero

All the effort to raise money – including an auction of corporate art – may add up to nothing as far as creditors and shareholders of Refco are concerned. Hedge funds – including JMP Capital Partners and Lonestar Capital Management, which hold more than a quarter of Refco’s stock – have filed papers in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York stating that it was “virtually tautological” that the collapsed futures broker would have “substantial assets” at the end of the day, according to Dow Jones Newswires. Refco’s unsecured-creditors committee doesn’t see it that way, and says the hedgies don’t understand the broker’s finances. “Refco shareholders, far from being a recipient of a substantial ‘liquidating dividend’ appear to be at least hundreds of millions of dollars out of the money,” according to the committee. Maybe that is true for part of Refco, but, as DJN reports, the hedgies insist the company has at least 75 other subsidiaries not in bankruptcy that can sell or liquidate assets to pay up. If that fails, the empty-pockets investors and shareholders may launch litigation against those who profited from the initial public offering that began the Refco disaster – including a $3.7 billion lawsuit against former Refco CEO Phillip Bennett. Hedge funds have been pushing for a court-appointed committee that would represent shareholders, but the unsecured-creditors committee said it would be a waste of time and money. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain has scheduled a hearing on the matter for June 8.