Amaranth to shut its doors next year

Date: Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Author: Aaron Seigel, InvestmentNews.com

Fallen hedge fund manager Amaranth Advisors LLC began letting go of employees on Oct. 13 and plans to close shop for good by March 31, founder Nicholas Maounis told Connecticut labor officials, according to published reports.

The Greenwich, Conn.-based hedge fund manager that lost $6.6 billion on natural gas trading will let go of about 350 employees at its headquarters, according to Bloomberg.

In an Oct. 12 letter to the Connecticut Department of Labor unit that monitors business closures, Mr. Maounis said that Amaranth's failure to sell part or all of its business to an outside investor made layoffs unavoidable.

Connecticut officials, concerned about the loss of high-paying jobs, are looking for potential employers to hire the Amaranth workers and keep them in the state.

Rival hedge fund and financial firms have told Amaranth of at least 1,000 jobs that might suit its employees, according to reports.

Amaranth's two main funds are being dismantled after they fell by as much as 70% in September from a peak of $9.5 billion, primarly resulting for, losses on energy trades.