Fir Tree Partners, a New York-based activist hedge fund firm with an almost 30-year track record of campaigns targeting distressed companies, is returning external capital to investors, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The report cites a letter sent to investors as confirming that Fir Tree, which was founded in 1994 by Jeffrey Tannenbaum, plans to return approximately 95% of the capital within its Credit Opportunity Fund by early March, with the remaining funds to be returned following a final audit. The firm’s PAMLI Global Credit Convexity business, however, will be handed over to a new investment manager and will continue its operations.
A representative for Fir Tree declined to comment on the matter.
Fir Tree’s flagship credit fund posted a net gain of around 17% last year, up from 13% in 2023, as outlined in the letter. Over its 30-year history, the hedge fund has achieved several key milestones, including challenging banks over mortgage underwriting practices following the 2008 financial crisis and founding sPower, which later became the largest private solar utility in the US.
More recently, Fir Tree has been involved in several high-profile investments. In 2022, the fund made a short bet against the crypto stablecoin tether and has been actively involved in the fortunes of two struggling Swedish companies, Samhallsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden AB (SBB) and Intrum AB.
