Mellon HBV refocuses US Special Situations strategy

Jonathan S. Bean, Mellon HBV managing director, said: "Many significant corporate events are presenting themselves as business and regulatory developments alter the course of companies, and as financial transactions become more complex and diverse. This enhanced strategy is meeting our expectations, and we see many promising opportunities going forward.”

The discipline is managed by Mellon HBV”s New York-based investment team led by Michael W. Hawthorne, portfolio manager. The team maintains a diversified portfolio of 20 to 30 investments within North America, including:·

* General corporate events  (spin-offs, corporate governance events, intra-capital arbitrage, value with catalyst, alternative financings);

* Aggressive arbitrage (hostile takeovers, non-market-neutral merger arbitrage, pre-announced mergers, post arbitrage); and,

* Distressed situations (mergers out of bankruptcy, announced corporate restructurings, debt for equity exchange offers).

William F. "Mickey" Harley, president and CEO of Mellon HBV, oversees the discipline, which is constructed with a strict application of risk control measures at the investment and portfolio levels.

Background Note: Mellon HBV Alternative Strategies LLC is an investment management company that seeks superior risk-adjusted investment performance primarily for institutional investors via an array of alternative investment disciplines. Headquartered in New York with a wholly owned investment management subsidiary located  in London, Mellon HBV has combined assets under management in excess of USD 1.1 billion in four primary event-driven investment disciplines: Arbitrage (US Risk Arbitrage, Global Risk Arbitrage, Convertible Arbitrage), Distressed (Hedged Distressed, Long-Biased Trading Oriented Distressed, Long-Only Control Oriented Distressed, Long-Only Trading Oriented Distressed); Event Driven (US Event Driven, European Event Driven), and Multi-Strategy Investing.

Mellon Financial Corporation is a global financial services company.
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Mellon is one of the world’s leading providers of financial services for institutions, corporations and high net worth individuals, providing institutional asset management, mutual funds, private wealth management, asset servicing, human resources services and treasury services.  Mellon has approximately USD 3.5 trillion in assets under management, administration or custody, including USD 657 billion under management.  Its asset management companies include The Dreyfus Corporation and UK-based Newton Investment Management Limited.