The Morning Brief: Dell Opens Books to Icahn; Tiger Global Arm Takes Mideast’s Answer to Groupon

Dell has allowed Carl Icahn a peek at its books. This suggests the activist investor may be mulling a deeper involvement in the computer company as he attempts to prevent a leveraged buyout led by founder Michael Dell from moving forward. Icahn has called on the company to pay a special dividend of $9 a share.

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Pershing Square Capital Management’s William Ackman has a new sparring partner. York Capital Management’s Jamie Dinan is shorting JC Penney, the struggling retailer Ackman has been betting big on its turnaround.

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John Paulson may be moving to Puerto Rico. Paulson’s New York–based hedge fund firm, whose recent spate of losses knocked down assets under management to $18 billion from a high of $36 billion, is tantalized by the U.S. territory’s lower tax rate on personal capital gains. Last year his funds gained, on average, a mere 1 percent.

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Tiger Global Management’s private investment arm has acquired Cobone.com, which the hedge fund manager calls the largest daily deal company in the Middle East. Under the terms, Paul Kenny, founder and current CEO of the Groupon wannabe will maintain his position in the firm. Tiger Global, founded by Tiger Cub Chase Coleman, is a big investor in internet, technology and media companies, and is known for its successful hedge fund bets. It also makes private investments designed to be held for at least 10 years. Past investments include Facebook, Linkedin, SurveyMonkey, Yandex, and Makemytrip.
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Alan Howard’s Brevan Howard is donating $30 million to the business school of Imperial College to set up a finance research center. The London-based school is where Howard studied chemical engineering. The research center will be called the Brevan Howard Center for Finance.