Michael Weinberger Said to Target Up to $750m at New Fund

(Bloomberg) -- York Capital alumnus Michael Weinberger plans to start trading his new hedge fund, Cerrano Capital, in the third quarter with as much as $750 million, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The fund is expected to begin with at least $500 million in capital, including about $150 million from friends and family, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information isn't public. Early investors include Third Point's Dan Loeb, according to the person, along with York founder Jamie Dinan and Chief Investment Officer Dan Schwartz, who told clients early last year they planned to back the startup. A Third Point spokeswoman didn't immediately return a call seeking comment after business hours.

Cerrano, which is based in New York, will be a long-short fund with an event-driven focus, the person said. It will focus on endowments and family offices as clients, with the goal of remaining moderate in size.

The firm hired Jaime Lester, most recently of Greenlight Capital and formerly of Soundpost Partners, to focus on the short side, according to the person. A Greenlight representative didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

Himayani Puri, who worked at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Realm Partners, was hired to focus on long investing; Avi Vogel, previously of Bow Street, is chief financial officer; and Marc Zwebner, who worked in top marketing roles at York and at Third Point, is a partner, according to a second person with knowledge of the matter. The firm also plans to hire three analysts before it starts trading.

Cerrano's prime brokers are Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley. The fund has leased space at 250 West 55th Street in Manhattan, a building that's also home to George Soros's New York office.

Weinberger, most recently head of U.S. equities at York, worked at that firm for more than 15 years before leaving in January 2016 to start his own fund. He declined to comment.

Weinberger is starting the fund after a tough 2016 for hedge funds, when more closed than in any other year since the financial crisis.

--With assistance from Hema Parmar

To contact the reporter on this story: Joshua Fineman in New York at jfineman@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Arie Shapira at ashapira3@bloomberg.net, Margaret Collins at mcollins45@bloomberg.net, Scott Schnipper