Sculptor Capital Management

Sculptor Capital Management
FormerlyOch-Ziff Capital Management Group
Company typeSubsidiary
NYSE: SCU (2007-23)
ISINUS67551U1051 Edit this on Wikidata
IndustryHedge funds
Founded1994; 30 years ago (1994)
FounderDaniel Och
HeadquartersSolow Building
New York City, New York, United States
Key people
AUMUS$34 billion (2023)[2]
Owner
Number of employees
343 (2022)[3]
Websitesculptor.com

Sculptor Capital Management (formerly Och-Ziff Capital Management Group) is an American global diversified alternative asset management firm.[4][5][6] They are one of the largest institutional alternative asset managers in the world.[5]

The company operates multiple investment strategies, including multi-strategy, credit and real estate.[7] It has nearly 400 employees worldwide including offices in New York City, London, Hong Kong, Mumbai, and Shanghai.[7][8][9]

On November 17, 2023, Rithm Capital completed the purchase of Sculptor Capital Management for approximately $719.8 million.[10]

Structure

In 2021, Jimmy Levin was appointed CEO of the company.[11][12] The firm is managed by the Partner Management Committee of seven executives.[11]

The company manages multi-strategy funds, dedicated credit funds, including opportunistic credit funds and Institutional Credit Strategies products, real estate funds and other alternative investment vehicles, including managing collateralized loan obligations.[6][7][8] The company manages $11.4 billion in multi-strategy funds, $6.4 billion in an opportunistic credit fund, $15.2 billion in institutional credit strategies, and $4.3 billion in real estate funds.[13]

History

The firm was founded as Och-Ziff in 1994 by Daniel Och with financial support from the Ziff family, founders of Ziff Davis Media. The company completed an initial public offering in 2007. The firm was one of the few hedge funds and private equity companies that completed IPOs before the 2007–2008 financial crisis.[14] Also in 2007, it became a founding member of the Hedge Fund Standards Board which sets a voluntary code of standards of best practice endorsed by its members.[15][16]

In September 2016, the firm entered into settlement agreements with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Department of Justice (DOJ), ending a five-year investigation into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for allegedly paying bribes to government officials in several African nations. As part of the deferred prosecution agreement that settled civil and criminal charges, the firm agreed to pay a $413 million fine. The African subsidiary of the firm also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy. Och was charged by the SEC with causing a books and record violation and paid $2.2m in disgorgement as part of the settlement.[17] After the settlement, the company restructured its leadership. In March 2019, founder and then-Chairman Dan Och stepped down, and in September 2019, the firm rebranded as Sculptor Capital Management.[18]

In January 2018, Michael Cohen, former head of Och Ziff's European operations, was charged with fraud relating to activities of the company in Africa. He was charged with ten counts of fraud including investment adviser fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud while employed by Och Ziff.[19][20] The SEC sued Michael Cohen as part of their probe into Och Ziff, specifically relating to an Och Ziff bribery scheme in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad and Libya, to win business for the company.[21]

On September 12, 2019, the company changed its name from Och-Ziff Capital Management to Sculptor Capital Management.[22] On May 15, 2019, Cohen pled guilty to one count of making false statements to the DOJ and was sentenced to three months; the other charges against him by the DOJ were dismissed.[23]

As of December 2021, the firm has $38.1 billion in assets under management.[3]: 67 

In January 2021, Sculptor became a signatory of the UNPRI as an investment manager.[24] Since the PRI's founding in 2006, various concerns have been raised over whether or not there is sufficient reporting and accountability among the signatories for membership to be meaningful, though in 2020 the PRI leadership finally began removing firms who did not meet the minimum requirements.[25][26]

In July 2023, Sculptor agreed to be sold to real estate investment firm Rithm Capital for approximately $639 million. The next month, Sculptor received an unsolicited bid from a consortium of hedge funds led by Saba Capital Management along with Pershing Square Capital Management and Avenue Capital Group.[2] Despite the higher bid, Sculptor rejected the offer based on the terms of funding the acquisition.[27]

In October 2023, Rithm Capital increased its bid to $720 million and gained the support of owner Daniel Och to accept the bid. On November 17, Rithm Capital completed the purchase of SCM for approximately $719.8 million.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Sculptor Capital Management Profile". Bloomberg. 23 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b Zuckerman, Gregory (August 20, 2023). "Wall Street All-Stars Including Weinstein, Ackman Bid for Hedge Fund". The Wall Street Journal.
  3. ^ a b "Sculptor Capital Management 2022 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. March 3, 2023.
  4. ^ "Goodbye Och-Ziff. Hello, Sculptor. Hedge Fund Tries New Name". Bloomberg. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  5. ^ a b Lessambo, Felix (November 8, 2011). Fundamentals of Hedge Funds: Alternative Investment Vehicles. Dorrance Publishing. p. 61. ISBN 9781434975959.
  6. ^ a b "Company Profile for Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (OZM)". Bloomberg. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  7. ^ a b c OZ Management (company website)
  8. ^ a b Form 10-Q filing as with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. December 31, 2015
  9. ^ Svea Herbst-Bayliss (October 26, 2015). "Hedge fund Och-Ziff opens Houston office to focus on energy bets". Reuters.
  10. ^ "Rithm Capital Corp. Completes Acquisition of Sculptor Capital Management". Sculptor Capital Management. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  11. ^ a b "Sculptor Capital Management leadership". Sculptor Capital Management.
  12. ^ Whyte, Amy (11 June 2020). "Jimmy Levin Finally Ascends to CEO at Sculptor Capital". Institutional Investor.
  13. ^ Parmar, Hema (January 7, 2020). "Ken Griffin's Citadel Beats Steve Cohen's Point72 With 19% Gain in 2019". www.bloomberg.com.
  14. ^ Zuill, Lilla (2007-11-14). "Update 2 Och Ziff IPO raises $1.15 billion". reuters.
  15. ^ "Hedge Fund Standards Board". www.hfsb.org. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  16. ^ "SBAI History".
  17. ^ Alexandra Stevenson (September 29, 2016). "Och-Ziff to Pay Over $400 Million in Bribery Settlement". The New York Times.
  18. ^ Chris Butera (August 14, 2019). "Och-Ziff Who? Hedge Fund Firm to Change Name in September". Chief Investment Officer Magazine.
  19. ^ "Michael Cohen, Once of Och-Ziff, Charged With Fraud by U.S." Bloomberg.com. 2018-01-03. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  20. ^ Dye, Jessica (3 January 2018). "Former Och-Ziff executive faces criminal fraud charges". Financial Times. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  21. ^ "Two Ex-Och-Ziff Executives Accused by SEC in Bribery Scheme". Bloomberg.com. 2017-01-26. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  22. ^ LLC, Och-Ziff Capital Management Group (2019-09-12). "Och-Ziff Capital Management Changes Name to Sculptor Capital Management". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  23. ^ "Former Och-Ziff Executive Sentenced to Prison". The Wall Street Journal. November 20, 2019.
  24. ^ "Sculptor Capital Management, Inc". PRI. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
  25. ^ Wheelan, Hugh (2012-10-31). "Editorial Comment: the UN PRI is facing major test of credibility". Responsible Investor. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
  26. ^ "EXCLUSIVE-Five groups ousted from U.N.-backed responsible investment list". Reuters. 2020-09-28. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
  27. ^ Choudhury, Ambereen (2023-08-21). "Hedge Fund Sculptor Rejects Unsolicited Bid by Weinstein, Ackman". Bloomberg News.
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