Odey Trims Stake in Brazil Farm Group Amid Scandal Fallout

The scandal enveloping UK-based hedge fund manager Crispin Odey and his firm is having consequences as far as Brazil.

(Bloomberg) — The scandal enveloping UK-based hedge fund manager Crispin Odey and his firm is having consequences as far as Brazil.

Odey Asset Management has begun to offload its long-held position in SLC Agricola SA, the country’s largest farming company, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. The number of shares trading hands and which of the firm’s funds are involved isn’t clear, the people said, asking for anonymity because the information isn’t public. While the exact timing of the sales can’t be pinpointed yet, they’ve been done over the past few days, they added.

Odey has long been the largest shareholder after the founding Logemann family, which controls SLC. The London-based hedge fund boosted its holdings in 2017, and owned a 9.3% stake in SLC as of May — or about 21.1 million shares, which would be valued at 739 million reais ($153 million) at current levels, regulatory filings show.

SLC was in the top 10 holdings of Odey’s flagship European Inc. hedge fund as of August and was in the top 10 positions of the Odey Opus Fund as of April, according to investor letters seen by Bloomberg.

Odey’s investment firm is swiftly unraveling after the publication of a Financial Times investigation into his treatment of women over a 25-year period that included multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault. The firm said on Saturday that it fully divorced itself from its founder and is now in advanced discussions to transfer its funds and many employees to other asset managers.

An Odey spokesperson declined to comment. SLC said it’s monitoring the situation and so far isn’t aware of any changes related to the fund’s investment strategy.

Read More: Odey Firm Seeks New Home for Funds in Apparent Endgame

While Odey was the largest private investor in SLC, he didn’t have an active voice within the company and didn’t seek to impose any conditions or alter operations, according to one of the people.

The shares have fallen about 4% since the June 8 article, making them the second-worst performer on Brazil’s benchmark Ibovespa index, while trading volume has been above the one-year average. An active share buyback program being carried out by the company is snapping up as much as 10% of daily trading volume, the person said.

Porto Alegre-based SLC oversees the most planted land in Brazil — some 670,000 hectares (1.7 million acres) — where it grows and sells cotton, soybeans, corn and other crops from about 22 farms. The company posted record profit in 2022 and paid out a dividend of 601 million reais.

Read More: Family Builds $900 Million Brazil Farming Empire After 935% Gain

In an interview in April, Eduardo Logemann, the chairman and grandson of the founder, said that he had only spoken to Odey once but had thanked him for defending the firm against deforestation allegations.

If Odey’s stake falls below 5%, SLC would be required to publish a filing with the regulator as per local securities rules.

–With assistance from Nishant Kumar.

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