Sculptor Capital Management says unsolicited bid received (updated)

Sculptor Capital Management

21/08/2023 02:51

(Releads story with statement from Sculptor)
       Aug 20 (Reuters) - Hedge fund firm Sculptor Capital
Management  SCU.N  said on Sunday it has received an unsolicited
bid from a "third party" that had participated in a "strategic
alternatives process", but the bid did not show "adequate
committed funding".
    Sculptor, which last month agreed to be acquired by Asset
manager Rithm Capital  RITM.N  for $639 million, had been
exploring a sale since last year, amid a legal battle with its
founder, Daniel Och. 
    Rithm had said that it would pay $11.15 per class A share of
the hedge fund.
    The latest bid’s headline valuation is higher than the Rithm
transaction but the proposal only includes committed financing
for less than half of the amount required for the transaction,
Sculptor said in a statement, adding that the offer
underestimates the amount that would be necessary by "several
hundred million dollars."
    A special committee "has not determined that the bid is, or
is reasonably expected to lead to, a superior proposal," the
hedge fund said. The statement did not name the "third party".
    The Wall Street Journal earlier reported on Sunday that
investors Boaz Weinstein, Bill Ackman and Marc Lasry have made a
rival offer for Sculptor.
    Weinstein’s group presented an offer for Sculptor that was
rejected during the sales process and it has subsequently
increased its bid to more than $12 a share, people familiar with
the matter told the Journal.
    Weinstein's Saba Capital Management, Ackman's Pershing
Square Capital Management and Lasry's Avenue Capital Group did
not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

 (Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by
Muralikumar Anantharaman)
 ((Kanjyik.Ghosh@thomsonreuters.com;))