Morning Brief: Dropbox Jumps 36 Percent in Market Debut

Shares of Dropbox surged 36 percent, to close at $28.48, on its first day of trading. The file sharing and storage company raised $756 million when it priced its initial public offering at $21 a share. One big winner is apparently Chris Hansen’s Valiant Capital Management, a long-time investor in Dropbox. Its $9.5 million investment made by its Valiant Capital Partners fund in September 2011 was valued at $15.2 million at year-end 2017. A $15.5 million investment made by Valiant’s offshore fund in September 2011 was valued at $24.7 million at year-end 2017.

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Larry Robbins’ Glenview Capital Management disclosed that as of March 16 it owned nearly 27 million shares of activist target Newell Brands, or 5.56 percent of the total. It is now the fifth-largest shareholder in the maker of Rubbermaid and other consumer products. The filing was made on a form 13G, meaning the investment is passive. It owned 17 million shares at year-end, according to a regulatory filing.

On March 19, Newell announced a deal with Carl Icahn, agreeing to appoint four directors designated by the activist. They include his son Brett Icahn; Andrew Langham, general counsel of Icahn Enterprises; and Courtney Mather, portfolio manager of Icahn Capital. In February Newell said Jeffrey Smith’s Starboard Value planned to nominate ten individuals to the board.

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Boaz Weinstein’s Saba Capital Management said it more than doubled its stake in Parker Drilling Co. to more than 7.9 million shares, or 5.71 percent of the total. The hedge fund indicated its investment in the supplier of energy drilling services and tools is passive.

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HFR reports that 190 hedge funds debuted in the fourth quarter, bringing the total for the year to 735. Meanwhile, 166 funds shut down in the fourth quarter, up sharply from 137 the previous quarter. However, 784 funds closed last year, one-quarter fewer than the 1,057 liquidations in 2016. This was also the fewest number of liquidations since 2011.