As weak as these papers are and as far as they have fallen, they still throw off lots of cash. Finra, the brokerage industrys main watchdog, subsequently concluded its review, and its unclear what if anything resulted from it. Fortune said Melchiorre wasnt a particularly good fit at the firm and irritated some senior executives. Chatham already owns about half of the outstanding indebtedness of the marketing company, explaining that the purchase price is the value of outstanding indebtedness. How fitting. Indications are hes been with Chatham more than 15 years. Hedge fund manager Chatham Asset Management and founder Anthony Melchiorre agreed to pay $19.4 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that the firm improperly traded. Sort: $5,409,230. Since it was founded in 2001, Seaport Global has been in full compliance with all laws and regulations governing our industry, the company said in a statement. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Chatham and the Enquirer 's publisher, David Pecker, had turned to. It even offered lower yields than some blue-chip companies. AMIhas deniedit helped Trumps campaign, although Pecker was recently granted immunity as part of the Cohen probe. Finra, the brokerage industrys main watchdog, subsequently concluded its review, and its unclear what if anything resulted from it. 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. Chatham, an investor in the company since 2009, is its largest creditor. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. He is the founder and principal owner of Chatham. Former FEC commissioner Trevor Potter, the head of the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center,last week said the situation presents a serious legal problem for AMI. If those legal troubles end up depressing the market value of AMI, teachers, firefighters, cops and other public employees also could potentially suffer losses at a time when their pension funds are alreadyfacingshortfalls. At least five other traders whove looked at the bonds say their prices seem too good to be true. So glad that I turned 55 last year and was able to get my 401(k) the hell out of there and roll it into the one at my current employer. Chatham Asset Management provides investment advisory services. In the newspaper industry, it is typical after an ownership change for the C.E.O. Hedge Fund Chatham Settles SEC Case on Improper Bond Trading (1) A bankruptcy court hearing on the matter is scheduled for July 24. That made it one of the best performing bonds in the world at the time. SEC employees have questioned the firm on subjects including its pricing of bonds and conversations with various bond dealers. Playing tough is the Chatham way. House in Cabris, Provence-Alpes-Cte d'Azur, France. . The next year, Seaport received internal complaints that brokers there agreed to buy bonds from Chatham with the promise the hedge fund would repurchase them at higher prices, according to people with knowledge of the situation. Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - April 3, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged New Jersey-based Chatham Asset Management LLC and its founder, Anthony Melchiorre, in . Hedge fund manager Chatham Asset Management and founder Anthony Melchiorre agreed to pay $19.4 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that the firm improperly traded fixed-income securities, the SEC announced Monday. Price swings on the trades described in the lawsuit marked the biggest-ever percentage changes in those securities, data reviewed by Bloomberg show. Yet, over the years questions have swirled around Chatham. Bob Hepburn, a Torstar spokesman, said, Torstar continues to cooperate with the bureau in its investigation.. As part of it, Postmedia traded 17 of its papers to Torstar in exchange for 24 Torstar papers. John Longo, a professor at Rutgers Business School, said such ownership did not necessarily mean a disregard for journalism. The SEC would like to thank the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for its assistance with this matter. Thats just not how bond math works, said Michael Terwilliger, a portfolio manager at Resource Credit Income Fund. He built his stature as a temperamental money-maker at the white-shoe firm. Californias pension fund also has a $235 million stake in a Chatham fund. Despite the macroeconomic warnings of a recession and job[], A Cherry Hill-based financial institution is back on top of Small Business Administration lenders in New Jerse[]. They wanted to kill a lawsuit by the former head of another Chatham company. Anyone can read what you share. 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. During the last five years, taxpayers in New Jersey, Ohio and California have owned large financial stakes in the owner of the media company that allegedly helped the Trump campaign bury negative stories, according to documents reviewed by Capital & Main and MapLight. The firm and its founder, Anthony Melchiorre, have a reputation for hard-edged business. They also agreed to pay civil penalties of $4,400,000 and $600,000, respectively. Internal hedge fund records from late 2017 show that AMI investments comprised 23 percent of the Chatham Asset Partners High Yield Funds portfolio. American Media acquired her story for $150,000 and never published it, a practice known as catch-and-kill. The New Jersey office building in which Chatham Asset Management has its office. the MV of securities sold, whichever is less, Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Chris Christies administrationmoved$300 millionof pension cash into the Chatham Fund, LP, which hasowneda stake in AMI, according to SEC records. 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. I wouldnt even begin to consider owning it at that level. Trumps former attorney, Michael Cohen, recentlypleaded guiltyto breaking campaign finance laws stemming from payments he made to women to hide affairs with the former reality TV star and real estate magnate. Fast Company & Inc 2023 Mansueto Ventures, LLC, State pension funds invested millions in hedge fund that controls National Enquirer parent. Sports coverage has been trimmed. The company did not immediately return NJBIZs request for comment about Chathams letter of interest. Thoserecordsshow the original $500 million investments are now worth as much as $692 million. Anthony Melchiorre - Chatham Asset Management, Chatham Borough, New Jersey Use the CB Insights Platform to explore Chatham Asset Management's full profile. Cohens assignment: Get Carl Grimstad, the recently fired CEO of payments processor iPayment Holdings, to the table. But just on the outside chance he does come around, would somebody please take his picture and send it to me? ", A representative for Chatham said in an email that "Chatham sought, received and followed advice from an independent compliance consultant about the manner of executing the trading in question. Importantly, the trading occurred more than four years ago in funds that have since been closed. Grimstad claimed Chatham artificially drove down the price of the bonds by almost 30 percent in a single trade, effectively blocking a debt-restructuring effort so it could capture control of the company. The regulator declined to comment. The owner, (whose only hope to save journalism in this second or third tier town), is digital publishinghas no web site! The state has said its exploring its options in light of Bezoss claim that American Media tried to blackmail him. The SECs order finds that, from 2016 through 2018, one Chatham-advised client sold certain American Media, Inc. (AMI) bonds while a different Chatham-advised client purchased the same bonds through various broker-dealers. Terms & Conditions. SEC Charges Chatham Asset Management and Founder Anthony Melchiorre for Ive received well over six figures since retiring in 2006, and I could get another six, if I live long enough and if the PBGC either makes McClatchy pay up or picks up at least two-thirds of the companys pension responsibilities. What a perfect synecdoche. 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.. There, they tried to prevent him from pursuing a lawsuit accusing Chatham-backed iPayment and its board member Pecker of ousting him unfairly. Were not even covering some City Hall things, which we miss., Postmedia said in a statement that it did not share specific numbers on staffing. Chatham is led by Anthony Melchiorre, a Chicago-area native who has earned a reputation on Wall Street as a tough negotiator. Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - April 3, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged New Jersey-based Chatham Asset Management LLC and its founder, Anthony Melchiorre, in connection with improper trading of certain fixed income securities. Get our free e-alerts & breaking news notifications! SEC Charges Chatham Asset Management and Founder Anthony Melchiorre for Improper Fixed Income Securities Trading. 13F filing from CHATHAM ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC, enter your In the fall, Alden took a 32 percent stake in Tribune Publishing, the owner of The Chicago Tribune and several other major papers. The firms assets have doubled in the past three years. Chatham had waited patiently for Thursday, and now its in the catbird seat, waiting for the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings to play out and then take charge. Then theres American Media. The Ohio pension system did not respond to questions about whether it will seek to divest assets from Chatham. When completed, an email will be sent to the email address you specify From shortly after the merger to the end of 2018, McClatchys work force was cut from more than 15,000 full-time employees to around 3,300, according to public filings. The company regrets any distress that may have been caused to the Grimstads by the public filing of the litigation against them, Chatham-controlled iPayment said at the time. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 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. Over time, Chatham has increased its investment (and sunk its teeth?) Anthony is Managing Member/Portfolio Manager and has served as Managing Member/Portfolio Manager since 09/01/2003. Chatham took a financial interest in McClatchy not long after its financial troubles began. Any statement or implication otherwise is false. Chatham hasnt denied Cohens participation in the meeting. JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC, Theres clarity in the St. Louis Post-Dispatchs futureFor The Star, just a bighaze. This post has been updated with additional information from Calpers and the Ohio pension system. That may worry McClatchy journalists, who are wondering how Chatham would run the business at a time when Google and Facebook dominate the online ad market and fewer readers are willing to pay for news, challenges that have been worsened by the coronavirus pandemic. Seaport Global defended its practices. Newsonomics: Six takeaways from McClatchy's bankruptcy After years of declines in revenue and print circulation, the McClatchy Company, one of the largest and most respected news publishers in the country, announced on Sunday that it expected to be bought by Chatham Asset Management, a New Jersey hedge fund, at the conclusion of a bankruptcy auction. Melchiorre and his. Seaport Global defended its practices. The firms assets have doubled in the past three years. Chatham said at the time that the allegations were baseless and without merit. Like Warren Buffett, Wall Street traders and just about everyone else, Chatham has no illusions about where the newspaper industry is headed; it just wants to bleed them of cash, or, perhaps, sell them at a nice profit to another chain. 1 Twitter 2 Facebook 3RSS 4YouTube Chatham Asset Management's Role in Tabloid-Worthy Stories - Fortune Sanjay Wadhwa, deputy director of the SEC's enforcement division, said in a statement that Chatham's trading in AMI bonds had the effect of "increasing the prices of those generally illiquid securities in a way that was disconnected from economic reality. That made it one of the best performing bonds in the world at the time. All rights reserved. Its a huge problem, and its getting to the point where its unacceptable.. Its a fair question.". or to simply have an email sent to you whenever we receive a new 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. The family-owned publisher of The Sacramento Bee and The Miami Herald announced the winner of its bankruptcy sale: Chatham Asset Management, the owner of The National Enquirer. Chatham is not a newcomer to the news industry. The next year, Seaport received internal complaints that brokers there agreed to buy bonds from Chatham with the promise the hedge fund would repurchase them at higher prices, according to people with knowledge of the situation. 6LinkedIn 8 Email Updates. The deal was partly financed by one private equity fund, Apollo Global Management, and Gannett is now controlled by another private equity fund, Fortress Investment Group, which is owned by the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank. Chatham and Mr. Melchiorre consented to the SEC's order without admitting or denying its findings. The court and regulators must approve the deal. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Chatham Asset Management Sends Letter to R.R. Donnelley Board of But Mr. MacLeod, the chief executive, acknowledged complaints about the cuts. Now he was working on behalf of Chatham Asset Management, a $4.3 billion hedge fund that owns the National Enquirer. Chatham and Melchiorre agreed jointly and severally to pay $11 million in disgorgement and around $3.4 million in prejudgment interest. At Hedge Fund That Owns Trump Secrets, Clashes and Odd Bond Math 13 Beds 11 Baths 5920 sqft. With roots going back to 1857, McClatchy, a consistent winner of top journalism awards, was one of the last major family-run news publishers. The iPayment case thrust questions about Chathams bond-trading methods into the open. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anthony Melchiorre has an ownership stake in Chatham Asset Management, LLC of between 50% and 75%. Activist Investor Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. 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. What is the average price for a luxury home in Grasse, France? The SEC order found that these trades were executed at prices Chatham and Mr. Melchiorre proposed and had the effect of increasing the price of the AMI bonds at a significantly higher rate than the prices of similar securities. Chatham and Melchiorre agreed to pay more than $19.3 million in combined disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties to settle the charges. The Securities and Exchange Commission said the trades were executed at prices that lifted the value of American Media Inc. bonds at a significantly higher rate than . Resources. How do I update this listing? 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. Following the successful launch of its Newport Centre location last fall, the brand recently unveiled its newest restaurant d[], JLL secured a long-term lease for 3,400 square feet for Rubinstein Plastic Surgery Center LLC, a cosmetic surgery practice, m[], The CEO of Toorak Capital Partners offers an analysis of the current residential real estate market, the [], Video Replay: NJBIZ Leaders In Digital Technology 2023, Congratulations to the 2023 NJBIZ Leaders in Law honorees (updated), Introducing NJBIZ Connect Your Guide to New Jersey Businesses, NJBIZ unveils 2023 Leaders in Finance Lifetime Achievement Honoree, Introducing the 2023 NJBIZ Leaders in Finance honorees (updated). Hedge Fund Chatham, Founder Melchiorre Pay $19M in SEC Case Over Bond 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. Its bonds rarely change hands. From 2004 to 2019, roughly half of all newspaper jobs in the United States were eliminated, according to a University of North Carolina study. Such wagers have come under increased scrutiny from regulators in the last year. Since Chatham Asset Management took over Postmedia, Canadas largest newspaper chain, 1,600 employees have been laid off and more than 30 papers shut down. Chathams trading has drawn scrutiny before. 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. Just sad. Playing tough is the Chatham way. It will not be split up, McClatchy said, its 30 news outlets remaining intact. Main Office In recent months it put together the bid that has been declared the winner in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court auction supervised by Judge Michael E. Wiles, a McClatchy spokeswoman said on Sunday. In all three cases, Chatham bought most of the subordinated bonds, plus stock. Traders have privately criticized what they see as lofty valuations of illiquid securities. 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. There are 8 other people named Anthony Melchiorre on AllPeople. AMI executives helped Cohen purchase stories that could have hurt Trumps presidential bid, according to theWall Street Journal. Thats because they are losing to him.. Torstar closed all but four of the 17 papers it had received. An SEC spokesman declined to comment. This is all very bad news for The Kansas City Star and the other McClatchy papers. The state has said its exploring its options in light of Bezoss claim that American Media tried to blackmail him. 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 order also finds that Chatham and Melchiorre calculated the net asset values, or NAVs, of their client funds holdings using pricing data that was based, in part, on the trading prices of the securities. A spokeswoman for Cohen declined to comment, and a spokesman for American Media and Pecker didnt respond to requests for comment. Anthony Melchiorre has an ownership stake in Chatham Asset Management, LLC of between 50% and 75%. Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments. In recent months, Postmedia closed approximately 15 community publications and laid off 120 employees in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, The Toronto Star reported. In addition to being a principal owner of American Media Inc., the parent company of The Enquirer and other tabloids, it is a major investor in Postmedia, the publisher of Canadian newspapers including The National Post, The Montreal Gazette and The Ottawa Citizen. Yet, over the years questions have swirled around Chatham. CHATHAM ASSET HIGH YIELD MASTER FUND, LTD. CHATHAM ASSET PRIVATE DEBT AND STRATEGIC CAPITAL OFFSHORE FUND II, LP, CHATHAM ASSET PRIVATE DEBT AND STRATEGIC CAPITAL FUND II, LP. The ugly litigation with the tech executive was resolved with a less-than-remorseful apology and a multimillion-dollar payday for Grimstad. Vericast recently announced several growth initiatives, including investing in technology and hiring for more than 250 new positions across the organizationits largest investments in innovation and employees since the companys 2020 launch. The New York Post put the story on its front page under the headline Frisky Business. (Grimstad has called those allegations false and meritless.). . Chatham Asset Management, founder Anthony Melchiorre hit with SEC Chatham's and Mr. Melchiorre's trading in the AMI bonds accounted for the vast majority of trading in those securities and therefore over time had a material effect on their pricing, according to the SEC. Postmedia is under investigation by Canadian regulators over a deal with a rival publisher, Torstar, the owner of The Toronto Star, that resulted in the closing of 36 newspapers and the loss of nearly 300 jobs. 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. The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon. Now he was working on behalf of Chatham Asset Management, a $4.3 billion hedge fund that owns the National Enquirer. 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. Products. To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market. They stay away from editorial matters but tend to focus on finding efficient ways to cut costs, according to two of the people. Marian Needham, the executive vice president of the NewsGuild, the union that represents employees at some McClatchy newspapers, said in a statement that McClatchy needed to adopt existing collective bargaining agreements. Download 13F Summary Create Email Alert, ***Log In or "As our order finds, Chathams trading in AMI bonds had the effect of increasing the prices of those generally illiquid securities in a way that was disconnected from economic reality," said Sanjay Wadhwa, Deputy Director of the SECs Division of Enforcement. Despite the losses, Postmedia has managed to shunt most of its cash toward paying off its heavy debt load, which ultimately will benefit Chatham. During the Relevant Period, Melchiorre owned approximately 70 percent of Chatham, and is the managing member of the general partner entity for each of the Funds. Since Chatham took a majority stake in Postmedia, the company has cut its work force, shuttered papers across Canada, reduced salaries and benefits, and centralized editorial operations in a way that has made parts of its 106 newspapers into clones of one another. Their bonds, though, havent suffered. While DOI plays no role in the management of a funds portfolio companies, it expects the funds to invest in good businesses with strong management teams that follow all applicable laws.. Find more info on AllPeople about Anthony Melchiorre and Chatham Asset Management, as well as people who work for similar businesses nearby, colleagues for other branches, and more people with a similar name. CHATHAM ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC Top 13F Holdings - WhaleWisdom.com Tenth Floor Chatham is a credit investment firm with investments in the print media and marketing communications industries, including investments in R.R. Blue Sky Digital Outdoor Advertising Fund Fund Data, Sarasin Ie Global Equity Opportunities (Usd) Fund Data, Themelios Ventures Ii-A, L.P. Fund Data. Named after the leafy suburb where its based, Chatham has posted average annual returns of about 10 percent, trouncing many of its competitors. New Jersey hedge fund, founder settle SEC charges over improper trades $19.3M Penalty For Chatham-Based Hedge Fund For Bond Trading - MSN 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. I love your lead sentence, Fitz. Fauci says the general public somehow didnt get his messaging that the vulnerable are really, really heavily On Thursday, Lyfts new CEO laid off over 1,000 employees. Sad. divided by the total MV of the fund. Thanks, Tracy. There are people who dont like him. When Knight Ridder bought The Star and three other Disney-owned papers in 1997, Im pretty sure Knight Ridder C.E.O. Federal regulators have been asking questions, too. 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. Chatham investors say that even if authorities go after the National Enquirer for allegedly extorting Bezos or for catch-and-kill tactics, American Media is a valuable company, with several magazines it could sell to raise money for creditors. Austin Weinstein 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. With McClatchy, the hedge fund also designed a trade aimed at reaping a windfall through credit-default swaps. Anthony is Managing Member/Portfolio Manager and has served as Managing Member/Portfolio Manager since 09/01/2003. After stints at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Melchiorre landed at Morgan Stanley in 1998 where he rose to head the junk-bond trading group.