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Event Driven Strategies Also classified as “special situation” or “special opportunity” strategies, hedge funds that follow this approach look for events that are expected to make an impact over a relatively short period of time: corporate restructuring , stock buybacks, bond upgrades, earnings surprises, spin-offs. Two main divisions within this category are distressed securities investing and risk or merger arbitrage. The distressed securities strategy focuses on the securities of companies experiencing financial difficulties. The term ‘distressed' security is used broadly. Sometimes, it is used to refer to the securities issued by companies which have defaulted and filed for credit protection. Other times, the term is used in a wider sense to include securities that are priced at a high pre m i u m over their safer counterparts. Hedge funds following a distressed security investment strategy are not limited to a particular asset type. They are active in bonds, stocks, bank debt, trade claims, private placements, warrants, etc. Some hedge funds focusing on distressed securities are active in the entire market; others limit themselves to more specific sectors. For example, some hedge funds may concentrate solely on the telecommunications sector. This technique attempts to profit from both relative and absolute pricing i n e fficiencies. The market for distressed securities is often inefficient and illiquid because of factors such as investor irr a t i o n a l i t y, risk aversion, legal restrictions on holding sub par securities, low coverage by analysts, and lack of re s e a rch. An active form of this strategy is to buy a substantial pro p o rt i o n of the outstanding security of the distressed company and then attempt to influence the re s t ructuring process. The distressed security strategy generally involves taking long positions, although a hedge fund manager could take s h o rt positions in distressed securities he thinks will worsen. This strategy carries a particular set of risks. Buying distressed securities is tantamount to placing a bet on the comeback of troubled companies. The length of re s t ructuring is hard to forecast. Prices for distressed securities are typically volatile and illiquid. There are legal risks. For example, re g u l a t o r s may prohibit the selling of a company’s stock during the re s t ru c t u r i n g . I n t e rest rate fluctuations will also have an impact on re t u rns. Some hedge funds may hedge this risk using interest rate future s . The market for distressed security grew in the 1980s in the US as the number of leveraged buyouts and hostile takeovers increased. In Europe, the market is smaller. One of the reasons is that bankruptcy laws in European countries a re less transparent than in the US. Japan is a growing market for d i s t ressed debt. The focus of m e rger/risk arbitrage is on the securities of companies involved in mergers and takeovers, both of the acquiring company and the takeover t a rget. Because of the possibility the merger may not go through, the targ e t c o m p a n y ’s share price usually carries a “bid premium”, a discount to the p roposed takeover price (in a cash offer), until the merger or takeover is finally completed. In a stock off e r, the mechanics of the merger arbitrage strategy are more complex. The acquirer will offer common stock as a form of payment, either entirely or part i a l l y. It is more difficult to evaluate the expected payoffs, as the price of the target firm ’s stock depends on the other c o m p a n y ’s share price. Usually, when a stock offer is announced, the targ e t f i rm ’s share price rises, while the share price of the bidding company falls. The arbitrage strategy usually will involve buying the former and short - selling the latter. As with distressed securities investing, an active form of the strategy is to accumulate large shareholdings in order to influence the merger negotiations and outcome. M e rger arbitrage carries a variety of risks. When there are antitrust issues c o n c e rning the merger or takeover, there is the possibility that regulators will block the deal. There is also a financing risk, in that the acquirer could lose the financial backing to carry out the purchase. Some hedge funds invest in a l a rge number of deals simultaneously to hedge their risks. Others take a more concentrated appro a c h . The volume of mergers and takeovers taking place tends to be highly cyclical, which influences the opportunities for merger arbitrage. During “slow” periods the available profit opportunities are correspondingly small. An example of a merger arbitrage trade occurred during the takeover of Mannesmann by Vodafone AirTouch. On November 14, 1999, Vo d a f o n e announced a bid offer of 53.7 of its shares for each share in Mannesmann. The next day, although Vodafone shares shot up, the bid premium still stood at 22.5%. On Febru a ry 4, 2000, Vodafone increased its offer to 58.9646 of its s h a res. Arbitrageurs who had bought shares in Mannesmann and sold short s h a res in Vodafone profited handsomely.