02/09/2010 Author: Ben Haidari

HFMWeek Daily Snapshot - 2 September

An investment fund backed by three of Brazil’s foremost businessmen is in advanced talks to buy Burger King, in a deal that would see the US burger chain return to private ownership for the second time in less than a decade, reports the FT. A deal to sell Burger King to 3G, a little-known investment vehicle based in New York, could be agreed within days, according to people familiar with the matter. However, as the deal has yet to be finalised, the talks could still collapse, they added.

A former hedge fund manager and a pharmaceutical executive have agreed to settle federal insider trading charges related to the 2007 takeover of the biotechnology company MedImmune, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday, Reuters reports. Stephen Goldfield, who ran the hedge fund firm Imperium Capital Management in Florida, was charged with making $13.98m in illegal profits by trading in MedImmune securities before AstraZeneca agreed to acquire the company for more than $15bn.

Many small European funds of hedge funds could close or be forced into a merger or sale as falling asset bases hit a sector whose reputation is already badly damaged in the eyes of investors and hedge funds alike, according to Reuters. Having seen $130bn or more than a fifth of assets, leave since the start of last year, firms are still finding asset-raising tough, as witnessed by Eddington Capital's recent decision to shut down and return clients' cash.

Global currency trading has surged by a fifth over the past three years to hit an average of $4trn a day in April, according to the latest triennial report from the Bank for International Settlements released today, according to Financial News.The report also revealed that big banks lost their dominance over trading volumes for the first time, taking second place to hedge funds and other financial institutions.

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One of Gartmore's longest serving fund managers quit the company, reports the FT. Gervais Williams, a 17-year veteran who managed hedge funds, smaller companies funds and Irish funds at the firm, will leave in September, marking the second high-profile manager to leave since the company listed on the London Stock Exchange late last year. Gartmore on Wednesday said Williams had left “to pursue other interests”. Williams’ exit comes after Bill McGowan, Gartmore’s general counsel, left the company last week after tendering his resignation in February.

Emmanuel Roman, the co-chief executive of hedge fund GLG Partners, will become the new COO of Man Group under a plan to acquire the fund manager approved on Wednesday by Man shareholders, says the FT. Roman’s appointment is intended to assuage concerns about the integration of the businesses, according to people familiar with the merger plans.