CORRECT(7/5):UPDATE:Harbinger Capital's Jenson Leaves Amid Fund Woes
July 06 2011 - 10:58AM
Dow Jones News
Harbinger Capital Partners Chief Operating Officer Peter Jenson
has left the hedge fund manager founded by Philip Falcone by
"mutual agreement," an affiliated company said Tuesday in a
securities filing.
The filing, by Harbinger Group Inc. (HRG), didn't name the
reason for Jenson's departure. Harbinger Group is majority-owned by
Harbinger Capital.
Jenson's departure comes as Harbinger Capital wrestles with
redemptions and a controversial investment in LightSquared, a
startup satellite wireless network company in which Harbinger has
invested.
As a result of Jenson's departure from the hedge fund manager,
he resigned from his positions as Harbinger Group's chief operating
officer and director.
Jenson, 46, left Citadel Investment Group for Harbinger Capital
in 2009 and was responsible for all operational activities of the
funds.
Meanwhile, Harbinger Group said Tuesday it has appointed Omar
Asali as acting president of the company, succeeding Falcone, who
will continue to serve as chairman and chief executive.
Harbinger Capital was recently hit with investor requests to
withdraw about $1 billion invested in its funds, people familiar
with the situation told The Wall Street Journal in June. Harbinger
told investors withdrawing money that they would be paid in part
with stakes in LightSquared, the Journal said. Harbinger has shrunk
to about $6 billion in assets from a peak of $26 billion in 2008,
the paper said.
Besides the investment in LightSquared, which faces technical
and regulatory challenges, Harbinger has acknowledged
investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the
U.S. Attorney's office on a $113 million loan to Falcone in 2009.
Falcone subsequently paid back the loan. Harbinger has said it's
cooperating with the investigations.
Harbinger Capital declined to comment Tuesday on Jenson's
departure. A call to Jenson's phone number at Harbinger went
unanswered.
Asali, who is a managing director and head of global strategy
for Harbinger Capital, was previously co-head of Goldman Sachs
Group Inc's (GS) hedge-fund strategies. Before that, Asali worked
in Goldman Sachs's investment-banking division, where he provided
merger and acquisition and strategic advice.
Harbinger Group completed its first acquisition in January,
taking a majority interest in global consumer products company
Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. (SPB). In April, it bought Old Mutual
U.S. Life Holdings, Inc., a provider of annuity and life insurance
products which has now been rebranded as Fidelity & Guaranty
Life.
In May, Harbinger Group reported its fiscal second-quarter loss
widened as higher operating and interest expenses masked sales
growth.
Shares were recently down 0.2% to $6.06 after hours.
-By Amy Or, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3142;
amy.or@dowjones.com
--John Kell contributed to this article.
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