Cantillon to Return $3.5 Billion to Investors

Date: Thursday, June 18, 2009
Author: Zachery Kouwe, The New York Times

Cantillon Capital Management, the investment firm run by a former star trader at Lazard Asset Management, is planning to shut down two hedge funds that manage about $3.5 billion in assets, according to an investor with knowledge of the plans.

The New York firm, which at one point managed $10 billion, has seen its assets dwindle as investors withdrew their capital in the wake of losses affecting the entire hedge fund industry last year. Cantillon was started in 2003 by William von Mueffling and quickly became one of the most profitable hedge funds on Wall Street.

Although it declined less than many hedge funds last year, Cantillon lost about 8 percent in March and has continued to have losses this year. The firm plans to return money to clients in its $2.7 billion Cantillon World fund and $800 million in its Cantillon European fund by the end of September, according to the investor.

News of the firm’s planned closure was first reported by Bloomberg News. Cantillon will continue to manage about $1 billion long-only investments.

Several large hedge funds have decided to wind down this year including Pequot Capital Management, Raptor Global Funds and D.B. Zwirn & Company.