Former Sculptor Capital Management Inc. chief Rob Shafir, one of firm’s largest shareholders, won’t support its proposed sale to Rithm Capital Corp. because he views a competing bid as more attractive, the New York Times reported.
(Bloomberg) — Former Sculptor Capital Management Inc. chief Rob Shafir, one of firm’s largest shareholders, won’t support its proposed sale to Rithm Capital Corp. because he views a competing bid as more attractive, the New York Times reported.
A rival offer from a group including Boaz Weinstein, Bill Ackman, Marc Lasry and Jeff Yass “is clearly superior,” Shafir wrote to the special committee advising Sculptor’s board, according to a letter cited by the newspaper and later attached to a statement on PRNewswire.
Shafir, who owns 6.2% of the firm’s Class A common stock, couldn’t immediately be reached by phone to confirm the letter’s authenticity or comment further. There was no copy of the letter in regulatory filings available late Thursday.
The hedge fund firm previously said it favors Rithm’s $639 million proposal despite a sweetened offer from a group the company has dubbed Bidder J. It defended that position in part by citing the risk that clients won’t accept Bidder J’s replacement of Jimmy Levin as chief executive officer.
“It is not credible” that Bidder J wouldn’t be acceptable to clients, according to the letter, which also dismissed concerns the group lacks funding to complete the transaction.
Read more: Sculptor says Weinstein raised offer, still prefers Rithm
Shafir is second-largest shareholder behind Levin, whose stake was more than twice as large as of last month, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
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