a 55 premium to its closing price of 14 May

The crisis is sometimes movements of unusual approximation, such a marriage between two "hedge funds", a rare practice in a sector dominated by the ego issues and jealous of its independence. Thus, the British Man Group announced its intention to redeem the "hedge fund" GL for $ 1.6 billion, creating thereby even the first global alternative Manager in Bridgewater Associates, whose assets exceed $ 40 billion.

GLG, who managed 23.7 billion at end of March and who has made a profit of 81 million in 2009, was founded in 1995 by collaborators of Lehman Brothers Investment Bank. It was introduced in the New York Stock Exchange in 2007. Its shareholders will receive 4.5 dollars in "cash", i.e. a 55 premium to its closing price of 14 May. Another sign of the motivation of the purchaser, the price paid (1.6 billion, or EUR 1.3 billion) represents 6.7 of the assets of GLG, a level of recovery important that only alternative managers can claim. A high price and which explains little-be downward title Man, which closed on a decline of 8.85, to 201,9 pence.

06/12 - 07/12 Buy Tim McGraw Tickets staging in Arrowhead Stadium, Bank Of America Stadium. Tim McGraw is staging in Kansas City, Charlotte and Cleveland. tim mcgraw tickets 2012

01/12 - 04/12 Shop for Gabriel Iglesias Tickets playing in Don Haskins Center, Embassy Theatre. Gabriel Iglesias is playing in El Paso, Fort Wayne and Tacoma. gabriel iglesias tickets 2012

07/12 Capture Brad Paisley Tickets performing in Cheyenne Frontier Days. Brad Paisley is performing in Cheyenne. brad paisley tickets 2012

Close Brothers analyst quoted by Bloomberg reasonable for the price paid, which represents 20 times earnings, a comparable to that of other such sides managers BlueBay AM. The two companies GLG and Man will be merged at the end of a transaction should be finalized in September. GLG leaders will receive in exchange for their participation in their society 163 million new shares Man Group. Pierre Lagrange, one of the stars managers, could thus collect around 250 million dollars in securities. Of course, these key employees are required to retain these shares at least three years.

Economic diversification strategies

This merger only will result in an increase in the results of Man Group until 2012. He conducted many acquisitions in its history: MWA Investment, a Fund of funds, acquired in 2002, Ore Hill Partners (2008) or BlueCrest, a "hedge fund" quantitative in which he took a stake of 25 in 2003...

Man assesses in addition to $ 50 million cost savings related to this operation. But it is mainly the diversification of its model of development which is at the origin of this initiative, that the market was waiting for a few weeks, with recurring rumours. Man Group has indeed built its development and notoriety around essentially quantitative strategies that work-based models. This is particularly the case of the monitoring of trends on the futures of his AHL funds, which represents around half of the stock of Man Group, estimated in total at $ 39.1 billion. However, less success with disappointing performances, his favourite funds explains much of market underperformance of the title Man on the London Stock Exchange since January. Under pressure from shareholders, the side Group thus wished to diversify its product offerings, because strategies are all bad times, or because of the economic environment which is not favourable to their managers. GLG, Man Group will now cover the main alternative strategies: "long/short" (buying and selling of shares...), arbitration, mergers and acquisitions and obligations, "global macro" (paris on all assets...), emerging markets...

Legislative uncertainties

Mergers between "hedge funds" are not so common. Before the crisis, are mostly banks or traditional societies who have thrown their vest on hedge funds for access to this market, growth, and levels of commission otherwise then more lucrative than those of the conventional funds. Today, external growth operations are generally of modest size (redemption of funds of hedge funds...). There are between 20 and 30 "hedge funds" of size comparable to GLG. Historical players (Soros, Citadel, Moore, Tudor, Brevan Howard, Paulson, d. e. Shaw...) which are diversified over time. They are generally in a position to proceed with targeted takeovers but uncertainties about the future contours of European legislation on hedge funds can encourage them to the wait and caution.