Boaz Weinstein would offer Sculptor Capital Management Inc. clients the chance to join his investment in the money manager under the same terms as his billionaire backers, according to people familiar with the plan.
The Saba Capital Management founder and his co-investors view the plan as a sweetener for clients, who must give their approval in order for Weinstein's bid for Sculptor to go through. His fellow bidders include billionaires Bill Ackman, Marc Lasry and Jeff Yass.
Sculptor said it prefers a deal with Rithm Capital Corp. even though the Weinstein-led bid, at $12.76 a share, is $1.61 higher than the one from the once-obscure real estate investment trust.
Sculptor shareholders will vote on the Rithm offer when it's put to them later this year. Under a Weinstein offer, more than half the Sculptor clients — as measured by fees paid — in the $8.5 billion hedge fund must agree to the deal under the terms of Weinstein's bid. If that bar isn't met, the Weinstein-led group would have the right to walk away.
While Rithm said it would retain Sculptor's leadership team, the Weinstein bid would demote Chief Investment Officer Jimmy Levin to be just one member of the office of the CIO — if he decided to stay, according to a regulatory filing. Other members would include Weinstein and two other unidentified people with no relation to Sculptor or the bidders.
Sculptor said in a filing "a number of clients" already raised concerns about potential for changes to the investment team. The firm hasn't set an exact date for the shareholder vote.
A spokesperson for Sculptor didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
