
There’s been lots of attention paid to Vivendi’s board meeting today as a sign of whether it will sell its 20% stake in NBC Universal and thereby clear the way for the deal I have been reporting on that is close between GE and Comcast. But whether Vivendi decides it wants out of its partnership with GE is not the point.
A report from that Group Danone had hired an investment bank to work on a possible bid for baby food company Mead Johnson had those shares up over 10% briefly. After speaking with bankers close to both companies it appears investors looking for a deal anytime soon will be disappointed.
One of these days it’s plausible to believe that the ailing wireless giant Sprint will be put out of its misery with the receipt of a viable takeover offer. But don’t count on that being anytime soon.
Atticus Capital founder Timothy Barakett, 44 years of age, is shuttering his flagship fund and returning $3 billion in capital to his investors. The roughly $1 billion left, Barakett’s personal fortune, will be managed by him in a so-called “family office”. Atticus will keep its European fund (not managed by Barakett), with roughly $1.5 billion under management, open.
AIG’s share price has now advanced more than 100% during the week. While it was a short squeeze that contributed the bulk of that move, today’s upward tide is due to a belief that AIG has found some stability in its business.
It’s strange enough when a stock is up 74% in two days, but rarer still when that move is not accompanied by any news to explain it. Such is the case for AIG, whose swift ascent yesterday (up over 8 points) and much of today (it was up over 17% at one point) is attributable to that most painful of investor predicaments: the short squeeze.
