Scammer MM business for sale. Funny how the articles all claim it's a "legitimate" business. Nobody would ever believe the mastermind behind a $50 billion ponzi scheme would naked short now, would he? I guess the "financial press" is still asleep at the switch?
Anyway, what's a MM business worth if there are no fails to deliver? Impossible? How about a hedge fund that doesn't actually buy and sell? Impossible? How about $50 billion worth of impossible?
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Trustee Can Auction Madoff Market-Making Unit, Judge Says
APRIL 7, 2009, 10:46 A.M. ET
By DAVID MCLAUGHLIN
online.wsj.com
NEW YORK -- A judge Tuesday said the trustee liquidating Bernard Madoff's business can take steps to sell Madoff's market-making operation in an effort to raise money for victims of the disgraced financier.
Judge Burton Lifland of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan approved an auction for the market-making unit, which was a legitimate business separate from Mr. Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme.
The court-appointed trustee, Irving Picard, has agreed to sell the business to Castor Pollux Securities, a broker-dealer in the Boston area, for up to $15.5 million.
The deal is subject to higher bids at an auction. If other bidders come forward by April 22, the auction would be held April 27.
Marc Hirschfield, a lawyer representing Mr. Picard, said at a court hearing that since the deal with Castor Pollux was announced, other parties have expressed interest in bidding. He said less than a dozen are doing due diligence.
"We hope to have a vibrant auction when that happens in a couple of weeks," he said.
More than 40 potential buyers initially expressed interest in the business and four made offers, according to court papers.
The sale of the market-making business will be used to raise money for victims of Mr. Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme. So far, Mr. Picard has recovered about $1 billion in assets that will be distributed to thousands of Madoff customers.
Mr. Madoff's investors are also eligible to receive up to $500,000 from the Securities Investor Protection Corp., which oversees failed brokerages.
Castor Pollux said in a statement that it agreed to buy the Madoff business because it was one of Wall Street's top market-making operations with "cutting edge technology." Under the agreement with Mr. Picard, Castor Pollux will pay $500,000 at closing and payments up to $15 million based on gross revenue and shares traded through 2012.
The market-making business ceased operations after Mr. Madoff's arrest in December. Last year, it made markets in more than 2,000 U.S. equities, according to Castor Pollux.
Write to David McLaughlin at david.mclaughlin@dowjones.com
online.wsj.com |
