What We're Reading ~ Analytical Links 8/27/14

Profile of Alibaba's Joseph Tsai [Bloomberg]

Carol Loomis' latest on BlackRock: the $4.3 trillion force [Fortune]

Profile of 108 year old investor Irving Kahn [Telegraph]

Lessons learned in 30 years of investing [What Works on Wall Street]

Share sleuth's investment checklist [Interactive Investor]

A look at Post Holdings [View From the Blue Ridge]

A look at WL Ross Holding Corp [Brooklyn Investor]

What makes Warren Buffett a great investor? [Farnam Street]

Amazon: not an e-commerce company [Stratechery]

The inside story of how Netflix came to pay Comcast for traffic [Quartz]

Morningstar: a force to be reckoned with [FT]

Nonprofit hospitals' earnings fall as costs outrun revenue [WSJ]

Interview with Burger King's CEO [Financial Post]

The company speeding a genetic revolution [Forbes]

Google's valuation: much cheaper now than 10 years ago [WSJ]

Family Dollar bidding war suggests 'peak dollar store' is here [Yahoo]

Match.com might not light IAC's fire [WSJ]

Peculiar habits of incredibly successful people [Morgan Housel]

Interview with venture capitalist Bill Gurley [Forbes]

Scout Capital's Letter to Tim Hortons' Board

Adam Weiss and James Crichton's hedge fund Scout Capital today filed an amended 13D with the SEC regarding Tim Hortons (THI).  Per the filing, their position size in THI remains unchanged (we originally flagged Scout's activist position in THI here).

Scout has sent a letter to the board of directors outlining their issues with the company and we've embedded it below:




For more on this hedge fund, check out some of Scout's other portfolio activity here.

Scout Capital Goes Activist on Tim Hortons, Boosts Position

Adam Weiss and James Crichton's hedge fund firm Scout Capital has filed a 13D with the SEC regarding shares of Tim Hortons (THI).  Per the filing, Scout has revealed a 5.5% ownership stake in with 8.4 million shares.

This marks a 271% increase in their position size since the end of the first quarter as they only owned 2.26 million shares then.  The 13D was filed due to portfolio activity on June 6th.

The fine print of the filing also outlines what Scout is trying to accomplish with their new activist position:

Scout has "engaged and expect to continue to engage in discussions with senior management of the Issuer with respect to the Issuer’s optimal capital structure, capital expenditures, timing and magnitude of share repurchases, management compensation metrics, and technology investments, among other matters."

Per Google Finance, Tim Hortons is "a quick service restaurant in North America. The Company’s menu includes premium coffee, espresso-based hot and cold specialty drinks, including lattes, cappuccinos and espresso shots, specialty teas, fruit smoothies, home-style soups, grilled Panini and classic sandwiches, wraps, hot breakfast sandwiches and fresh baked goods, including donuts."

For more on this hedge fund, we highlighted a new stock Scout has been buying recently.

What We're Reading ~ Hedge Fund Links 5/3/13

Seth Klarman cautions "false sense of calm in the US" [ValueWalk]

Emerging manager interview with Tappan Street Partners [Distressed Debt Investing]

Children's Investment Fund trumpets Japan Tobacco investment [Moneybeat]

Paul Singer on gold's irreplaceability and euro's dark future [ValueWalk]

Corvex's Keith Meister lays out investment in Commonwealth [Moneybeat]

Valiant Capital has rough first quarter [Institutional Investor's Alpha]

JANA's Rosenstein slams Agrium [Absolute Return]

SEC said to push for lifting ban on hedge fund ads [Bloomberg]

Hedge funds scooping up personal property tax liens [Term Sheet]

Highfields Capital faces uphill task with Tim Hortons [Hedgeworld]

Eddie Lampert tries to convince shareholders Sears is on the right track [Hedgeworld]

Lansdowne exits Prudential short after meaningful losses [Bloomberg]

You've never heard of one of the best performing hedge funds [Quartz]

Tough times for hedge funds that bet on market tumult [Reuters]

Hedge funds drive demand for Greek Corporate Debt [Moneybeat]

Indian hedge funds dare where foreign investors fear [Reuters]

The hunt for Steve Cohen [Vanity Fair]