The Morning Brief: Paul Singer Denies French Charges Against Elliott

Paul Singer’s Elliott Management denied charges by French regulators that the fund engaged in insider trading and market manipulation of Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhone SA, with operates toll roads running through Western Europe. According to Bloomberg, representatives of France’s stock market regulator, the Autorite des Marches Financiers, recommended on Friday that the hedge fund be fined $55 million for investing in the French stock while simultaneously negotiating to sell its stake to a third party. In a statement, Elliott reportedly asserted: “Elliott’s trading in APRR did not at any time make use of any material non-public information, was for a legitimate business purpose that was part of a long-standing trading strategy, and did not artificially inflate the price of APRR shares.”



Steven Cohen, in the final stages of turning SAC Capital into a family office, pared back a number of additional holdings that had represented more than 5 percent of the individual company’s outstanding shares. The companies include internet hotshot Zynga, Trulia, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Tessera Technologies and Diamond Foods.



John Burbank III’s Passport Capital disclosed it owns more than 4.3 million shares — or 6.4 percent of the total outstanding — of Solazyme, a biotech company. The San Francisco hedge fund owned just 200,000 shares at the end of 2013. On Friday the stock fell more than 4 percent amid the market’s larger biotech sell-off. However, the shares are trading at roughly where they began the year. Passport filed the disclosure in a 13G, suggesting it is a passive investment.



PointState Capital disclosed it owns more than 3.2 million shares of The Medicines Co., a pharmaceutical company that specializes in the treatment of critical care patients. PointState’s holdings represent 7.3 percent of the total outstanding shares. The fund held fewer than 35,000 shares at year-end. It is a passive investment.

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