Several hedge funds are profiting big after their bet that gas giant Chevron would successfully acquire competitor Hess Corporation in a $53 billion deal.
Firms that specialize in merger arbitrage are looking at billions of dollars in windfall after a 20-month court arbitration finally concluded on Friday, Bloomberg reports.
Merger arbitrage is a trading strategy that involves betting on the outcome of a merger or acquisition, typically by taking long and/or short positions in the stocks of the companies involved.
According to a Morgan Stanley calculation, shares of Hess were the most widely held position for merger arbitrages in the US, collectively amounting to $10 billion worth of positions.
Notably among those betting on the acquisition were Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors, Adage Capital and HBK Investments.
Roy Behren, co-chief investment officer at Westchester Capital, says the firm held roughly $350 million in Hess shares in anticipation of the acquisition
“I’ve been waiting forever for this to happen. It took a year and a half, but I think the right outcome was achieved… The Hess stake was the largest position we have had in the past 15 years. The arbitration panel ruled the way our consultants and analysts expected.”
Citadel and HBK each had the equivalent of $1 billion in shares, according to the firms’ latest filings, says Bloomberg.
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