The portfolio of Francis Chou, hedge fund manager of Chou Associates Management showed that the amount of its assets under management decreased from approximately $396 million to $382 million during the fourth quarter of 2012, based on its 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
During the period, Chou Associates Management bought 1,080,797 shares of MBIA Inc. (NYSE:MBI) with an estimated market value of more than $8.4 million. MBIA is a holding company, which provides financial guarantee insurance, related reinsurance, advisory and portfolio, and asset management services for public and structured financial markets.
The stock price of the company is trading around $10.81 per shares, up by nearly 3 percent as of this writing.
The hedge fund also increased its stake in Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) by 1 million shares to 2.5 million shares. The total amount of its stake in the computer maker is approximately $25.35 million.
Dell’s $24.4 billion buyout agreement with a consortium buyers led Silver Lake Partners & its CEO Michael Dell to take the company private is questioned by shareholders particularly Mason Hawkins, CEO Of Southeastern Asset Management citing that the proposal significantly undervalues the company.
Three other hedge funds including Harris Associates LP, Yacktman Asset Management LP, and Pzena Investment Management said they would vote against Dell’s LBO. It is unclear whether Chou Associates would join its fellow shareholders in voting against the deal.
Chou Associates reduced its holdings across seven stocks during the quarter including Media General, Inc. (NYSE:MEG) by 605,639 shares, Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) by 30,000 shares, Resolute Forest Products Inc (NYSE:RFP) by 187,772 shares, Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S) by 1 million shares, SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM) (KRX:017670) by 170,000 shares, and UTStarcom Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:UTSI) by 684,272 shares. The hedge fund also reduced its stake in Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) by more than 3.5 million shares.
During the quarter, Chou Associates sold its entire position in Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings SA (NYSE:FSR), Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) (TSE:VRX), Office Depot Inc (NYSE:ODP) The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS), and SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM) (KRX:017670).
