After IPO: George Soros Apparently Wants To List His Palantiru Shares | 06/12/2020

George Soros has been with Palantir for years. But now a stock market legend regrets this investment and wants to sell all shares in the controversial data analytics firm.

• George Soros he is involved in the Palantir
• Business practices under fire
• The investment should be completed

The holding company Soros Fund Management (SFM) has notified the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it has an interest in Palantir. As shown in Form 13F, which is required to disclose any US investor that manages over $ 100 million, there were 18,457,516 shares with a market value of $ 175.34 million at the end of the third quarter. Dollars held by a hedge fund. The share in the entire portfolio was 4.29%.

A controversial business model

This investment surprised many market participants as Palantir is considered extremely controversial. The American company, co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel in 2004, specializes in data analysis and works extensively with security agencies and secret services in the West. It is extremely hidden when it comes to business and customers, which is why its image is shrouded in secrecy.

But Palantir also helps large companies to process large amounts of data. But it is precisely this access to large amounts of data, cooperation with secret services and secrecy that raise concerns about possible breaches of data protection.

A surprising investment

Consequently, it was surprising that George Soros, of all people, is one of Palantiru’s investors, after all, the investment legend of the past represented rather liberal fundamental values. Peter Thiel, on the other hand, has a more conservative stance and was one of the supporters of Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.

In the meantime, however, the involvement in SFM is viewed very critically and wants to end it as soon as possible. The hedge fund said on the Open Society Foundations website that the stake in Palantir was brought in in 2012 by a portfolio manager who no longer works for SFM. When Palantir made a leap onto the New York Stock Exchange with a direct investment in September, the position was converted into a listed stock.

At the time of accession, “the negative social consequences of big data were still poorly understood,” said SFM, justifying its commitment to Palantir. “SFM would not invest in Palantir today,” the hedge fund admitted in a statement.

Soros completes the investment in Palantir

Soros’ investment firm stressed that it disagrees with the business practices of the data analytics firm. Consequently, all the shares have already been sold, may have been sold up to that point, and the rest they want to sell as well, whenever legally and contractually permitted.

Editors of Finanzen.at