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Fairholme’s Berkowitz Wins Approval To Buy 50% Of St. Joe
Why is this even news? If he does that he will have 6% of the fund in JOE. Big frea**** deal. Methinks FAIRX becomes FHX, a closed end fund before I lose all my hair. Of course he has to do it before someone else takes that trading symbol.
1) JOE would be a bigger percentage of FAIRX's assets if the stock had performed better up until now.
2) This is a hell of a story watching such a talented manager seeming to go all Capt. Ahab on this stock. Is it really worth all the attention he is spending on it, and will he come out smelling like a rose in the end? Fascinating stuff.
Earlier in the year (last year?) there was a St Joe discussion and I had a few thoughts.
1. Whatever happens is going to take a long while. Hopefully it will not take longer than Marty Whitman's Tejon Ranch investment. He could repurpose it and turn it into some other kind of investment vehicle, a la Howard Hughes Corp.
2. I thought that a foreign buyer could come in and do something major with the land, and specifically Genting, who has put together a series of insane resorts overseas. Genting Malaysia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Genting_Theme_Park.jpg - can anyone take a look at that insane place and say they don't want to go there?)
FWIW -- my understanding that Bruce wanted to buy JOE as a way of establishing a hedge-fund-like or Berkshire-like vehicle within the stipulations of a mutual fund. I think Romick of FPA has tried to do the same. I admit that I don't understand all the implications of such a move; but in these cases its as much about gaining exposure to the company and its assets as it is to a vehicle which provides a backdoor way for the fund itself to engage in alternative investment strategies.
Comments
1) JOE would be a bigger percentage of FAIRX's assets if the stock had performed better up until now.
2) This is a hell of a story watching such a talented manager seeming to go all Capt. Ahab on this stock. Is it really worth all the attention he is spending on it, and will he come out smelling like a rose in the end? Fascinating stuff.
1. Whatever happens is going to take a long while. Hopefully it will not take longer than Marty Whitman's Tejon Ranch investment. He could repurpose it and turn it into some other kind of investment vehicle, a la Howard Hughes Corp.
2. I thought that a foreign buyer could come in and do something major with the land, and specifically Genting, who has put together a series of insane resorts overseas. Genting Malaysia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Genting_Theme_Park.jpg - can anyone take a look at that insane place and say they don't want to go there?)
Genting did actually choose to build in Florida since then - in Miami, spending $3B to create a massive casino/resort complex (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-15/genting-malaysia-to-invest-3-billion-on-resorts-world-miami.html)
3. I'd like to see something creative done with timber and water rights. Carbon credits?