WSJ – Buying shares of Shire PLC has been one of the most popular hedge-fund bets of the year. It also has been among the most nerve-racking.
Hedge funds Paulson & Co., Magnetar Financial LLC and Elliott Management Corp. are among eight firms that have together snapped up more than $8 billion of Shire stock, or about 17% of the Dublin pharmaceutical company, anticipating a big payoff if its $54 billion purchase by AbbVie Inc. is completed. The collective bet is one of the biggest wagers on a deal in recent memory, some hedge-fund managers said.
