In an earlier post (here), I examined the risk characteristics surrounding Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPEs) financing, and argued that PIPEs are an increasingly important part of small public company financing, and that companies should not be viewed as suspect merely because they have resorted to PIPEs financing. Since the time of
Hedge Funds
A New Era in Hedge Fund Litigation?
When the giant hedge fund Amaranth imploded in late September 2006 in the largest hedge fund failure ever, it made the front page of the Wall Street Journal (here, subscription required). Amaranth lost more than $6 billion after the natural gas bet of one of its traders, Brian Hunter, took a severely wrong…
Update on Private Money, Public Company Risk
Hedge Fund Hardball and D & O Risk
In a prior post (here), The D & O Diary commented on “Private Money and D & O Risk,” noting the heightened potential for disputes to arise when the new “power players” (private equity funds, hedge funds, and buyout firms) have interests that conflict with those of management, other investors or creditors. An…
Hedge Fund Activism, Corporate Governance, and D & O Risk
Along with the burgeoning growth of the hedge fund industry has come the increasing importance and influence of activist hedge funds. This activism has taken a variety of forms, from public pressure on portfolio companies to change business strategy, to the running of a proxy contest to gain seats on the boards of directors of…