Reuters – Billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson’s big stake in AngloGold Ashanti is a strand of his heavy exposure to gold and not designed to gain from the slim chance of a merger bid.
Before making billions of profits shorting mortgages and banks in 2007 and 2008, Paulson & Co bought and shorted stocks involved in mergers and other corporate events.
Yet mining giant AngloGold is out of bounds to all but its largest rivals as a takeover candidate, industry observers say, and Paulson’s 12 percent stake in the group can hardly be a bet its shares will rise on the back of a bid.
