For years, the identity of the owner of one of the largest holdings of Puerto Rican debts has been a mystery.
That mystery has finally been solved, with the help of the The Baupost Group, who unmasked themselves to The Intercept. The Baupost Group, a Boston-based hedge fund managed by billionaire Seth Klarman, owns nearly a billion dollars of Puerto Rican debt, purchased under a shell company subsidiary and hidden from public scrutiny. Baupost acquired the debt through an on-paper Delaware-based corporation named Decagon Holdings LLC, whose beneficial owner had been unknown until now.
More @ The Intercept
Gee, Seth Klarman a New York, Liberal Jew. Who could have predicted he'd be involved in a money matter like this?
ReplyDeletePuerto Rico has been managed irresponsibly. It was approximately $74B in debt before hurricane Maria. It now needs billions of additional dollars to rebuild its infrastructure. Puerto Rico previously defaulted on its debt and some investors such as Seth Klarman purchased Puerto Rican obligations at pennies on the dollar. The purchase wasn't illegal, immoral or unethical, yet David Dayen decided to vilify Klarman. IMO the mystery is not who purchased the obligations but how Puerto Rico got into such a mess to begin with. We, the American taxpayers, are on the hook to bail out Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is responsible, not Klarman.
ReplyDeletethe mystery is not who purchased the obligations but how Puerto Rico got into such a mess to begin with
DeleteAgreed.
Just a vulture - this type using shell companies to buy Puerto Rican bonds, then, can shield wealthy investors from public knowledge of their complicity in the misery of millions of U.S. citizens. Glad his cloak has fallen.
ReplyDeleteGlad his cloak has fallen.
DeleteIndeed.