Hedge Fund Marathon Asset Management Earns $30M Due To Timely Bet On Credit Suisse's Senior Bonds

Marathon Asset Management LP's gained around $30 million due to its opportune bet on Credit Suisse Group AG CS bonds.
The hedge fund amassed around $150 million in bonds in Credit Suisse's senior operating company at rock bottom prices just days before the Swiss bank offered to repurchase them at a high premium in a March 16 statement, Bloomberg reported citing a person with knowledge of the matter.
The trade was an opportunistic move to capitalize on current bank disruption, the report added. Marathon had no prior exposure to Credit Suisse bonds before buying the positions last week.
After the UBS Group AG UBS deal, the bonds bought by Marathon were tendered back by Credit Suisse in the mid to high 90 cents on the dollar range.
Marathon is also among investors with claims on Credit Suisse's AT1 bonds, ahead of what's expected to be a contentious legal battle over the $17 billion in debt written down to zero.
Marathon CEO Bruce Richards said on Bloomberg Television that while it was focused on buying some of the dislocation within the banking system, it didn't want to buy into the subordinate parts of the capital structure unless they were trading at pennies on the dollar.
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