John Paulson, an investor famous for his bet against the sub-prime market in 2008, is now putting his money firmly in the real estate market. An SEC filing made by the investor’s hedge fund, Paulson & Co., revealed the maven has acquired 11% in Realogy Holdings Corp (NYSE:RLGY).
Paulson’s investment in real estate mirrors that of another investor who made his name in the financial crisis, Kyle Bass. I’ve compared these two before, but Bass’ recent advice to invest in mortgage backed securities, mirror’s Paulson’s slightly different Real Estate bet here.
The form 3 filing with the SEC revealed the hedge fund took ownership in the form of A, B, and C class Convertible Senior Subordinated Notes, due 2018. The news was first revealed today by marketfolly.com, who reported on the original filing.
John Paulson has had a rocky relationship with the markets in recent months. After a disastrous year in 2011 for hedge funds, and particularly for John Paulson, the investor has attempted to win back confidence in his skills.
Paulson’s major flaw in 2011 was his bet on a quick US recovery in that year. When the financial stocks began to rise in the early months of 2012, Paulson had pulled out of his major positions in many of the banks, missing the recovery.
Realogy Holdings is a provider of Real Estate services, and owns Coldwell Banks and Century 21 real estate brokerage brand names. The filing revealed that at close of the firm’s coming IPO, Paulson’s notes will be converted into common stock in the firm.
According to marketfolly.com, that conversion will result in Paulson owning about 11.8 million common shares in the public company. Realogy Holdings announced today that it would be pricing that IPO at the high end of its range.
Whether or not Paulson can manage to turn this bet on the recovery of the real estate market, into a win, will depend entirely on the US economy and its fundamentals.
