Paulson & Co. filed today a form 4 stating that he has divested himself of part of his share in Delphi Automotive PLC (NYSE:DLPH) worth over $100 million. The actual numbers involved were a 3,250,000 shares sold at $32.00 each. That sale leaves the hedge fund with somewhere in the region of 45 million shares. Delphi Automotive has been a strong asset for Paulson whose funds have suffered in the past year from over exposure to banks, including Bank of America and Citigroup. His bet on the early recovery of the economy last year did not pan out and his funds shrunk accordingly.
Delphi Automotive is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of automotive components. It is active in the manufacture and sale of components all over the world. The company was spun off from General Motors in 1999 and since then has been through some difficulty, facing Chapter 11 bankruptcy and reorganisation in 2005. The company had recovered enough to announce its IPO in 2011. The IPO hopes to raise around $550-$600 for the company. A date for the offering has not yet been set.
Last month Valuewalk exclusively obtained a letter from Paulson &Co. where Paulson laid out his plans to sell DElphi stock. We posted that article on February 15th. That letter also suggests that Paulson is in possession of some Delphi Debt though the amount of exposure has not been filed with the SEC. That letter pointed to Paulson’s bullish mood on Delphi. Today’s sale comes after a sale in February of about one third the size. That sale was blamed on Paulson’s poor performance in February and the theory that he may in fact have needed cash in hand. This larger sale may be an aspect of the same need or it may be part of a more strategic sell off by Paulson in the firm.
