Tom Hudson, Ye Scalawag

On Friday, Bloomberg had a pretty scathing report on the founder of activist hedge fund Pirate Capital, Tom Hudson, after a terrible year for the fund. Link to Article

From the article. "Pirate is leaking money. Its assets fell to $1.56 billion as of Oct. 31 from a peak of $1.8 billion in August, according to figures Pirate has sent to investors. That figure has since fallen to $1.1 billion. Hudson's Jolly Roger Fund returned 9.5 percent in 2006, trailing a 15.8 percent return for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. It was Pirate's worst year ever.

As if that weren't enough, a former client and partner, Nassau, Bahamas-based Magnum Global Investments Ltd., has sued Pirate in New York State Supreme Court, saying Hudson reneged on a promise to pay the investment firm in return for steering investor dollars Pirate's way. Hudson has asked the judge to dismiss the case.

It's a remarkable turnabout for Hudson, whose fund posted an average annual return of 31.3 percent from July 2002 to December 2005, according to Pirate marketing documents. "

Link to some of our past reports on Pirate Capital