On Wednesday, Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam told employees via letter that the company is going to wind down all of its hedge funds. In a Wall Street Journal article (subscription required), a person familiar with Galleon said that one of the alternatives the company is exploring is selling out to another firm.
These alternatives were approached by Rajaratnam in his letter, as he told employees that it is "in the best interest of our investors and employees to conduct an orderly wind down of Galleon's funds while we explore various alternatives for our business."
Rajaratnam was among the six people arrested last Friday and charged in the massive insider-trading scandal. Thanks to this arrest, many of Galleon's investors were trying to withdraw their money from the company. As for selling Galleon, there is reportedly some interest from a couple of parties.
My, how far the mighty have fallen thanks to a bit of insider trading. Galleon managed $7 billion in 2008, which was the company's peak, but it is now on the verge of being sold thanks to the greed of its founder.
Quite honestly, this should not come as a surprise to anyone, as this is the next logical step in the fallout of the insider trading scandal. Galleon investors will get their money back, which they can withdraw on a monthly basis. Some clients of the company's other hedge funds (including the $1.2 billion Diversified fund) can get their money back on a quarterly basis. Investors must give 45 days notice for all withdrawals.
With customers getting their money back and the founder mired in an insider-trading scandal, how much do we think Galleon could get in sale? There is value, but I am not sure how much people are going to be willing to pay. That said, there is probably someone out there that is willing to shell out some serious cash for Galleon ... we shall soon see.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-21-2009 @ 2:31PM
S said...
Investcorp should buy them.