Alexander Jackson, a former principal of U.K. hedge-fund group Polygon Investment Partners LLP, has been kicked off the board of a listed vehicle he helped set up.

The Amsterdam-listed company, Tetragon Financial Group Ltd. (TFG.AE), said its other directors gave Jackson notice after a disagreement over the company's investment last year in GreenOak Real Estate, a company set up by former Morgan Stanley (MS) real-estate executives.

Tetragon Financial Group said Jackson had been forced out "as a result of Mr. Jackson's conduct following the board's approval in July 2010 of the investment in GreenOak Real Estate, from which Mr. Jackson dissented, in relation to differences in view between Mr. Jackson and the other directors."

Jackson couldn't immediately be reached to comment and a Tetragon spokesman said he couldn't comment beyond the press release.

TFG in August 2010 said it would take a 10% stake in newly formed GreenOak Real Estate, lend it up to $10 million for working capital and commit $100 million to its investments. GreenOak founders John Carrafiell, Sonny Kalsi and Fred Schmidt were also granted options on about 3% of TFG's shares. Polygon Management LP, another Polygon affiliate, also made an investment in GreenOak and GreenOak in turn made an investment in Polygon.

Around the same time, Carrafiell and Kalsi took up partnerships at Polygon Investment Partners, according to a database maintained by the U.K. Financial Services Authority. The two men had worked for Morgan Stanley in its global real-estate investing arm until 2009. Tokyo-based Schmidt also worked in the division, overseeing Asian investments.

David Wishnow, a TFG board member and principal at Tetragon Financial Management, in August said the GreenOak deal had the potential to make TFG more of a broad-based financial services firm, expanding its reach from its primary business of investing in the riskiest tranches of collateralized loan obligations. At the end of September, its indirect exposure to leveraged loans through those investments was around $17.5 billion.

In October, TFG said it didn't expect to see any operating income benefits from the venture in the immediate future. Press reports last year said GreenOak was aiming to use some of the Tetragon co-investment money in a Japanese real estate-focused fund. A call to Carrafiell wasn't immediately returned.

TFG Monday said Jackson will continue to be a principal at Tetragon Financial Management LP, the investment manager to TFG, but has also been stripped of his duties as director on a private, offshore version of TFG.

Jackson co-founded Polygon in 2002 but stepped down as a principal in 2008. He continued to be involved in Tetragon Financial Management, which Polygon set up in 2005 to make credit investments, originally under the name Polygon Credit Management LP. TFG was floated on Euronext Amsterdam in May 2007 and within months started sharply writing down the value of its investments as the credit crunch took hold.

Despite the declines in the company's portfolio and stock price during the crisis, the company continued to be a money-spinner for Tetragon Financial Management, generating $88 million in fees in the first nine months of 2010, its most recent reporting period.

Total investment income from TFG's investment portfolio was $142.8 million.

TFG shares closed flat Monday at $6.60, after regaining intraday losses. The company's latest net asset value estimate at Nov. 30 was $9.05 per share.

-By Margot Patrick, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9451; margot.patrick@dowjones.com
Tetragon Financial (EU:TFG)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Nov 2024 até Dez 2024 Click aqui para mais gráficos Tetragon Financial.
Tetragon Financial (EU:TFG)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Dez 2023 até Dez 2024 Click aqui para mais gráficos Tetragon Financial.