Niea Milwaukee 2009 Again

Two hedge funds say no material Greek debt holdings

Posted by TerranceV | Business | Posted on January 31st, 2012

LONDON (Reuters) – Hedge funds Och-Ziff Capital Management (OZM.N) and York Capital Management said they do not have a material investment in Greek sovereign debt, and have not been involved in negotiations to restructure the country’s debt.

“York’s holdings in Greek Government bonds have never been of any material size, and York has never been involved in negotiations surrounding the exchange offer and has no intent to do so,” York, a New York-based fund, said in a statement.

Och-Ziff, a $28.4 billion (18.4 billion pounds) fund also based in New York, said in an emailed statement: “The Company and its funds do not have a material investment in Greek sovereign debt. The company and its funds have not been involved in any way in negotiations concerning the restructuring of this debt.”

Greece and its private sector creditors are trying to agree a deal to slash the country’s debt pile to avoid a disorderly default.

Och Ziff and York are among a group of hedge funds which hold positions in Greek debt that collectively may have built up sufficiently large positions to scupper the bailout deal, several sources close to the debt restructuring told Reuters last week.

(Reporting by Tommy Wilkes. Editing by Jane Merriman)