Monaco-based fund’s Chinese bet went wrong – FT

A Monaco-based hedge fund has offloaded its shares in “a half-a-billion dollar bet that went very wrong.” the Financial Times reported on Thursday, August 9.

Tyrus Capital, headed by Tony Chedraoui, had presented NXP Semiconductors at a charity event at the Monaco Yacht Club as an investment with a “very low” downside and a potential upside in double digits.

Yacht club Monaco
Photo: Monaco Life

When Mr Chedraoui spoke about the positive prospects for NXP, the company had agreed a takeover bid from the US semiconductor company Qualcomm, the financial daily wrote. In February 2018, Qualcomm had upped its offer to $44 billion. However, the Chinese government blocked the purchase in July amid President Trump’s trade war with China.

The FT said that several investors have told it that their funds were “blindsided” by the trade tensions. Although Tyrus had sold off its shareholding before the Chinese move, losses for the fund were “significant,” the newspaper said. Mr Chedraoui is a former director of mergers and acquisitions at Lehman Brothers.