Sculptor board moves deal goalposts too far

Sculptor Capital Management

20/10/2023 17:22

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions
expressed are his own.)
    By Jeffrey Goldfarb
       NEW YORK, Oct 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The hedge
fund’s founder Daniel Och is suing to stop a $680 mln sale to
Rithm Capital, alleging that a higher offer led by Boaz
Weinstein has not been given a fair shake. Some of the choices
behind the deal decision are defensible. Stacking the
shareholder vote, however, is not.       
    Full view will be published shortly.
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    CONTEXT NEWS
    Sculptor Capital Management founder Daniel Och and other
former executives have sued to stop the hedge fund from selling
itself to Rithm Capital for $676 million.
    The lawsuit, filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery on Oct.
17, seeks to halt the deal until a rival bidding group led by
Saba Capital boss Boaz Weinstein is permitted to present its
offer fully to shareholders and clients.
    A special board committee at Sculptor said the lawsuit “is
replete with materially misleading statements.”
    Sculptor said on Oct. 12 that it had accepted Rithm’s offer
of $12 a share, an increase on an earlier bid. The Weinstein
consortium said it would pay $13 a share, but it is prevented
from discussing the offer with stakeholders because of
standstill and nondisclosure agreements it signed.

 (Editing by John Foley and Sharon Lam)
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