By Lawrence Delevingne
BOSTON (Reuters) - Distressed investment firm Marble Ridge Capital LP plans to wind down its funds after a government report called into question the actions of its managing partner, Dan Kamensky, during the Neiman Marcus Group bankruptcy, the firm said on Thursday.
"After much consideration, and in light of the operating environment, we have made the difficult decision to commence an orderly wind-down of the Marble Ridge funds," the firm told clients in a letter seen by Reuters.
"Marble Ridge will manage the liquidation in the best interests of our investors and with the objective of protecting and enhancing the value of the funds' assets."
Robert Siegfried, an external spokesman for Marble Ridge, declined to comment.
Reuters and other media reported on Thursday that Kamensky admitted a "grave mistake" to the Department of Justice's U.S. Trustee division, which oversees bankruptcies, in interfering with a potential bid for certain assets of the luxury retailer.
His actions, described as pressuring a Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) employee not to bid on certain Neiman assets, were publicly disclosed in a report from Henry Hobbs, acting U.S. trustee for the western and southern districts of Texas, ahead of a scheduled hearing for a judge to consider Neiman’s reorganization plan.
Read more, https://www.reuters.com/article/bankruptcy-neiman/marble-ridge-manager-owns-up-to-grave-mistake-in-attempt-to-block-neiman-bid-idUSL1N2FM1SI
"While we understand that you may have questions, we are not able to comment on the contents of the report," Kamensky wrote in Thursday's letter.
Marble Ridge, based in New York and founded in 2015 by Kamensky, a former partner at hedge fund firm Paulson & Co, had $1.2 billion in assets under management as of December 31, a regulatory filing showed.
A Marble Ridge investor told Reuters late Thursday that the firm shutting its hedge funds was the "right and inevitable result" of the events.
"Sophisticated institutional firms don't behave the way Marble Ridge is described in the Trustee's report," the client said.