Odey: Plus500 shares spike as it claws back $100m from beleaguered hedge fund
Shares in London-listed fintech firm Plus500 have surged today after the firm revealed it would buy back some £100m worth of shares from beleaguered hedge fund Odey Asset Management.
Odey AM has been rocked in recent days after founder Crispin Odey was accused of sexual assault by numerous women in an investigation by the Financial Times. Odey denies the allegations.
In a statement today, Plus500 announced it had bought back around 8.2 per cent of the firm’s entire issued share capital from Odey AM in a deal worth £101.3m.
Shares in the firm have spiked over seven per cent on the back of the sale, pushing it to the top of the fastest risers in the FTSE 250.
In a statement, Plus500 said given the “strength of the company’s balance sheet” and the “prevailing circumstances” the deal to buy back the shares was “in the best interest of all shareholders”.
“The Company has acted quickly to execute this opportunity to acquire shares at an attractive price, in-line with the Company’s capital allocation and shareholder return policy,” Plus 500 said in a statement.
The shares will now be held in treasury by the firm.
Plus500 had $950m in the bank at its latest set of results and said the Odey buyback would come separately to a $70m buyback deal previously announced.
The firm said to clients it had halted redemptions from its Brook Developed Markets Fund following a jump in cash requests, the Telegraph reported.