Chatham, an investor in the company since 2009, is its largest creditor. I remember that very well because by then I was hoping for a buyout and asked him, in front of the crowd, if he was planning on offering any. Chatham and Melchiorre agreed jointly and severally to pay $11 million in disgorgement and around $3.4 million in prejudgment interest. Then theres American Media. And in 2006, when McClatchy bought out Knight Ridder, McClatchy C.E.O. Finra, the brokerage industrys main watchdog, subsequently concluded its review, and its unclear what if anything resulted from it. But Melchiorre? AMI represents a large portion of Chathams portfolio. Chatham said at the time that the allegations were baseless and without merit. For the sake of McClatchys approximately 2,800 employees (for comparisons sake, The Star alone had more than 2,000 employees about 20 years ago), Im sorry to say things could get a lot worse before theres any chance of getting better. Hedge fund Chatham Asset Management and its founder, Anthony Melchiorre, agreed to pay more than $19 million to settle US allegations that the firm improperly traded bonds in a media company that owned the National Enquirer.. 1 Twitter 2 Facebook 3RSS 4YouTube The expected deal to sell The Sacramento Bee, McClatchys flagship publication, and other newspapers to a New Jersey hedge fund will end 163 years of family ownership. Start Free Trial . Chatham haswarnedthat its investments are risky and that a client may lose its entire investment in a troubled company. In early 2018, private equity giant BlackstoneremovedChatham from one of its major investment funds. Anthony Melchiorre has an ownership stake in Chatham Asset Management, LLC of between 50% and 75%. McClatchys troubles can be traced to 2006, when it bought its much larger rival, Knight Ridder, then the second-largest newspaper chain in the United States, for $4.5 billion, plus the assumption of $2 billion in debt. Offers may be subject to change without notice. All rights reserved. In 2018, Canadas Competition Bureau, a law enforcement agency that oversees commerce, opened an investigation into the transaction for possible anticompetitive conduct and has searched the offices of both Postmedia and Torstar. The state has said its exploring its options in light of Bezoss claim that American Media tried to blackmail him. That made it one of the best performing bonds in the world at the time. Anthony Melchiorre is the Founder & Managing Member of Chatham Asset Management. New Jersey, which has generated a more-than 12 percent annualized return on its investment, is entitled to withdraw $355 million from one of Chathams funds at the end of this year. As part of it, Postmedia traded 17 of its papers to Torstar in exchange for 24 Torstar papers. Sign-up The SEC would like to thank the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for its assistance with this matter. Chathams track record as an owner of a major newspaper chain is grim, according to 10 current and former Postmedia employees who spoke with The New York Times on the condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation. Although not physically imposing, the Fortune story said, Melchiorre could be foul-mouthed and loud, and would berate fellow traders as he bopped around the trading floor in his stocking feet.. American Media now owes debtholders in excess of $1 billion, more than the book value of its assets. The company that is poised to take control of McClatchy and its 29 daily papers doesnt have a website. Blue Sky Digital Outdoor Advertising Fund Fund Data, Sarasin Ie Global Equity Opportunities (Usd) Fund Data, Themelios Ventures Ii-A, L.P. Fund Data. Yet, over the years questions have swirled around Chatham. Finra, the brokerage industrys main watchdog, subsequently concluded its review, and its unclear what if anything resulted from it. (One of the people whom Chatham installed on the Postmedia board was Daniel Rotstein, a consultant for American Media.). Download 13F Summary The threat was blunt: Back off, or there will be trouble. And your word synedoche drove me to the online dictionary. In that same period, the editorial ranks at The National Post, its flagship paper, have been reduced by about a third, according to three of the people. Yet its recent focus on tough-to-trade investments has given some clients pause, and initially drove off investors such as the Ohio state pension fund. Fast Company & Inc 2023 Mansueto Ventures, LLC, State pension funds invested millions in hedge fund that controls National Enquirer parent. 2023 BridgeTower Media. Grimstad claimed in filings that Chatham had manipulated iPayment bonds to seize control of the company. Chatham and Melchiorre agreed to pay . That offer included the debt assumed by the hedge fund and its partners. In 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority opened a review of the brokerage Seaport Global Securities that, while focusing on that firm, included an examination of its relationship with Chatham, people familiar with the matter said. CHATHAM ASSET HIGH YIELD OFFSHORE FUND, LTD. CHATHAM ASSET PARTNERS HIGH YIELD FUND, L.P. Chatham was the favorite in the McClatchy auction, but the New York hedge fund Alden Global Capital expressed strong interest last week, when a lawyer representing the firm said at a bankruptcy hearing that Alden was prepared to top any other bid. Now he was working on behalf of Chatham Asset Management, a $4.3 billion hedge fund that owns the National Enquirer. Use of this website is subject to its Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy | Do Not Sell My Info/Cookie Policy. I cannot talk on behalf of the entire SIC, but I will be doing everything in my power to convince a majority to vote the same way.. (Another Postmedia creditor, the hedge fund Canso Investment Counsel, is being paid back more quickly based on an earlier agreement.). After several stints at elite firms like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, he was let go from Morgan Stanley in 2002 as part of a sweeping round of layoffs. Two other old-line media investments, Postmedia Network Canada Corp. and McClatchy Co., have become central to Chatham and its thesis that itll make money in an industry others are fleeing. With a strategy that led to deep layoffs at The Denver Post and other publications, it has made money in an ailing business while angering journalists and press advocates who accuse the firm of diminishing local news publications and doing a disservice to the communities they cover. If the business is not profitable, theyll do what they need to to right-size it., He added: If they look at the assets they are buying, part of their core purpose is to serve their community. Alpes Maritimes is part of the Provence-Alpes-Cte d'Azur region. The SEC has increased its focus on the valuation of securities across the market, said Jacob Frenkel, a lawyer at Dickinson Wright. Chicago, IL 60601, Court backs SEC in lawsuit challenging proxy-rule rescission, Labor Department addresses FAQs for multiemployer pension plans receiving SFA, U.S. regulators propose strengthening oversight of non-banks, Sponsored Content: EDHEC Climate and Finance Special, The Institutional Investors Guide to ESG Investing, The Plan Sponsor's Guide to Retirement Income, 2023 Defined Contribution East Conference, SEC's rules moving too fast, industry says, SEC proposes requiring electronic submissions for nearly all forms, SEC seeks $2.4 billion in funding to boost staff numbers. What is the average price for a luxury home in Grasse, France? The regulator declined to comment. A March 2019 Fortune magazine story said Melchiorre, who is either 51 or 52, was raised in Chicago, studied economics at Northwestern and got an MBA from the University of Chicago. In the newspaper industry, it is typical after an ownership change for the C.E.O. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. It doesnt produce a product or render a significant service to society. The private equity fund Fortress Investment Group controls the largest American newspaper chain, Gannett, which publishes USA Today, The Arizona Republic and 250 other dailies. Two other old-line media investments, Postmedia Network Canada Corp. and McClatchy Co., have become central to Chatham and its thesis that itll make money in an industry others are fleeing. This much is sure: Chatham founder Melchiorre, 51, has a formidable reputation. Long-term clients include the state pension fund of Chathams home state, New Jersey. The New Jersey office building in which Chatham Asset Management has its office. The new, supersize version of Gannett resulted from a merger last year between Gannett and the parent of GateHouse Media. How fitting. In an April 3 announcement, the Securities and Exchange Commission said that Chatham Asset Management LLC and founder Anthony Melchiorre agreed to pay more than $19.3 million in combined . As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Melchiorre, 55, owned roughly 70 percent of the company during the relevant period and is the managing member of the general partner entity for each of the funds. I would bet, in fact, that not one Star employee not even president-publisher-secretary and head of security Mike Fannin will ever see him. There are 8 other people named Anthony Melchiorre on AllPeople. Chatham Asset Management, LLC Anthony Melchiorre Managing Member Dear Mr. Melchiorre, We are writing to follow up on our discussions with regards to your non-binding, conditional indication of interest to acquire R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company. Apr 3, 2023 11:40 AM PDT. Internal hedge fund records from late 2017 show that AMI investments comprised 23 percent of the Chatham Asset Partners High Yield Funds portfolio. The California state pension system has been planning to exit all of its hedge fund investments and has been asking Chatham to sell holdings so it can return about $200 million. Clearly, the writing is on the digital wall. Shortly after, Postmedia announced it would shut down all 24 newsrooms it had acquired, except for one, according to public filings. But Mr. MacLeod, the chief executive, acknowledged complaints about the cuts. Fortress is owned by the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank. Playing tough is the Chatham way. Any statement or implication otherwise is false. Chatham hasnt denied Cohens participation in the meeting. A Chicago-area kid who studied economics at Northwestern and got an MBA from the University of Chicago, his high-toned education didnt reduce the intensity of the former high-school football star. Chatham Asset Management and its founder, Anthony Melchiorre, have agreed to settle charges they violated U.S. laws designed to protect investors when they bought and sold bonds in. The New York Post put the story on its front page under the headline Frisky Business. (Grimstad has called those allegations false and meritless.). Apr 3, 2023. A spokeswoman for Cohen declined to comment, and a spokesman for American Media and Pecker didnt respond to requests for comment. His behavior infuriated some senior executives, according to former colleagues. Im always for local ownership whenever possible, and local support, said Sree Sreenivasan, professor of digital innovation at Stony Brook Universitys School of Journalism, sounding a note of caution regarding finance-industry ownership. Chatham engaged in these trades to address portfolio constraints such as industry or issuer fund concentration limits, meet investor redemptions, and allocate capital inflows and outflows. The SECs investigation was conducted by Daphne Downes, Brian Fitzpatrick, and Lindsay S. Moilanen, with assistance from Carina Chambarry and Raymond Wolff of the SECs Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. Chatham CEO Anthony Melchiorre and McClatchy CEO Craig Forman assuming Forman stays in place both believe in the . As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. And as it happened, the hedge fund owned the tabloid, the National Enquirer, that he had just used to try and catch and kill stories about the future president. In the interest letter to Vericast CEO John O'Malley, Chantham Managing Member Anthony Melchiorre detailed CAM's longstanding investments in the company, including: Serving as the lead backstop. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. 2023 Fortune Media IP Limited. These cookies do not store any personal information. Chatham Asset Management to Pay $19.3M to Settle SEC Charges. Melchiorre also served as the. Named after the leafy suburb where its based, Chatham has posted average annual returns of about 10%, trouncing many of its competitors. Although not physically imposing, Melchiorre could be foul-mouthed and loud, and would berate fellow traders as he bopped around the trading floor in his stocking feet. Hedge funds and private equity firms have had a growing presence in the news industry, to the chagrin of press advocates who argue that financial firms do not make civic-minded stewards of a business built largely on holding the powerful to account. It needs to be bolstered and rebuilt, not milked for whatever profit it can still produce., Chatham Hedge Fund Has the Winning Bid for McClatchy Newspapers, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/12/business/media/hedge-fund-mcclatchy-newspapers.html. Chatham hasnt been accused of wrongdoing by authorities, and the fund had no comment on its interactions with federal inspectors. Chatham Asset Management, LLC (together with its affiliates, "we" or " Chatham "), is a New Jersey -based credit investment firm focused on rigorous, fundamentally-based research, with. Postmedia, where Pecker sat on the board until last August, has posted annual losses for most of the past decade. Over that time, Chatham has sunk even more money into one of its most controversial investments: National Enquirer parent American Media, which accounts for about 16%, or $400 million, of the $2.5 billion that Chatham manages in its main fund and related accounts. (The answer was no, and I retired on June 30, three days after the McClatchy deal closed.). . Resources. He built his stature as a temperamental money-maker at the white-shoe firm. American Media now owes debtholders in excess of $1 billion, more than the book value of its assets. When completed, an email will be sent to the email address you specify Those investments amounted to a bet that the companies would acquire competitors and cut costs. That kind of showing helped the firm attract $300 million from investors this quarter, a person familiar with the matter said. They give us a lowdown on how much money were losing and the need for cost cutting, but then they go and give these big bonuses. But just on the outside chance he does come around, would somebody please take his picture and send it to me? 13 Beds 11 Baths 5920 sqft.