Bad bluff in Texas

Hedge funds often make bids for companies in their portfolios. Most of the time, they’re just trying to flush out a buyer willing to pay more. And most of the time they get lucky. But what happens when no white knight materialises? Ask Jana Partners. In June the San Francisco hedge fund bid $62 a share, $1.8bn, for Houston Exploration. But the natural gas producer said Jana’s offer undervalued the company. So it hired Lehman Brothers to find another buyer. Fast forward to today. Houston agreed...