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Facebook aquires Instagram in billiondollar-deal

Richopedia Staff — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 07:45:40 +0000

Facebook aquires photo-sharing app-maker Instagram in a move which was unexpected, especially considering the fact that the social networking giant is about to go public.

The entrepreneurs and investors backing Instagram included some high profile names, including Sequoia Capital, and we expect that their timely exit will be the talk of the Valley for quite a while. Instagram launched in January of 2011 and is currently sporting some 30 million users. While Instagram have a loyal user base, the company is still fresh and they currently have no significant revenues. Richopedia expects both parties to be quite satisfied with the deal. The people behind Instagram received a more than fair compensation and Facebook aquired some talent and a highly strategic fit. Moreover, the deal will be concluded ahead of the Facebook IPO next month.

In a comment to this deal Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg concluded: “It´s the first time we aquired a product and company with so many users. We don´t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all.”

$ 98.6 million record setting penalty for Hedge Fund

Richopedia Staff — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:26:20 +0000

The Bristish-based asset manager Lewis Chester got slapped by a hefty $ 98,6 million penalty by american regulators. It represents the biggest slap any non-american fund manager has withstood. As a matter of fact it is the highest penalty any non-american firm has ever been fined, in any industry. Allegedly the Pentagon Capital Management firm traded later (in the day) than they were allowed to do according to their framework.

Hedge fund manager Lewis Chester has already stated that he is already moving forward with an appeal.

Biggest ever US lottery win- three lucky winners

Richopedia Staff — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:49:58 +0000

In the biggest ever US lottery ticket win three lucky individuals will split a hefty $ 656 million. One of the lottery tickets was sold in a small farmin community with less than 4000 inhabitants. The store who sold this particular ticket will receive a one-off bonus of $ 500.000. The winners of the historical lottery will have a choice to either receive the winnings in singular payment straight away or receive their winnings in 26 annual installment payments.

The Richopedia staff congratules the happy winners. Don´t spend it all in one place…

Internet Pizza kings become millionaires

Richopedia Staff — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:53:35 +0000

The nordic internet pizza home delivery company “onlinepizza.se” will become a part of german internet food delivery giant “Delivery Hero”. The three students who founded online pizza.se walk away with an estimated $ 38-76 million. One of the founders, young Swede Erik Mellström Byrenius made a statement to the press shortly following the press release:

“We concluded that it was time to make an exit. We bring home a decent amount of money for our efforts, and I really don´t have that much more to say.”

Erik is one of the three students who started onlinepizza.se seven years ago. One of the other founders, Dan Castillo, added:

“When we studied together and got bored, we sometimes wondered why there wasn´t any decent internet pizza delivery services around when you really needed them.”

Their question, soon grew into a business idea and after initially launching in Sweden, the trio later expanded their business model to neighbouring countries Finland, Austria and Poland.

The Rich List- Hedge Fund Stars making the cut

Richopedia Staff — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 22:38:42 +0000

The annual top-earner list of Hedge Fund Managers “Absolute Return+Alpha” was interesting reading indeed. The year of 2011 was a difficult one for investors and many hedge fund managers across the globe were caught on the wrong side of some troublesome (european) macro news. The average hedge fund lost more than 2 % last year, but the hedge fund stars on this prestigous list were the exceptions to the rule. The 25 highest earning hedge fund managers on the list made a combined $ 14.4 billion during 2011, which is quite a feat. There were some superstars absent from this year´s list, including George Soros, Bruce Kovner and John Paulson- the man who was top dog of the bunch in last year´s survey (making $ 4.9 billion in 2010).

As we go through the list we recognize most names. It is a “who´s who” with regards to alpha management, and most of the participants are not first-time offenders with regards to being on this list. Let´s have a quick look at those who came out on top during 2011:

1. Raymond Dalio
The founder of the world´s largest hedge fund group Bridgewater Associates Raymond Dalio took home a whopping $ 3.9 billion for 2011. With an impressive gain of some 16.05 % for the firm´s biggest hedge fund “Pure Alpha” and additional gains on his personal assets under management Mr Dalio takes home the sweet spot on last year´s list.

2. Carl Icahn
Carl Icahn of Icahn Capital Management made a respectable $ 2.5 billion during 2011. The high-profile activist racked up an impressive 34,5% gross return for his customers during the year, making his spot on this list not only logical- he deserves it.

3. James Simons
The head of the “code breakers” at Renaissance Technologies Corp booked $ 2.1 billion in personal profit for the year of 2011. After less than stellar performace during the last couple of year´s Rennaisance is back with a vengeance, posting a 34 % gain for the year of 2011.

4. Kenneth Griffin
Citadel founder Kenneth Griffin netted gains above 20 % for 2011 and earned a neat $ 700 million for his troubles. Thus, Citadel has come back in style after a troublesome 2008 where the losses amounted to a hefty 55 %.

5. Steve Cohen
The founder and head trader of SAC Capitol Advisors raked in $ 585 million in personal profit during 2011. Cohen “only” made 8 % for the year, and yet he might be among the most impressive individuals on this list. He is known for his 50 % performance fee (the fund made 16 % gross) but more importantly he has an outstandingly consistent track record, making impressive returns for his investors for the better part of the last two decades.