In an SEC Filing a few moments ago regarding Target (TGT)…
“This amendment to Schedule 13D has been filed by the Reporting Persons to reflect certain transactions including (1) the sale of stock-settled call options, (2) the purchase of shares of common stock and (3) the purchase of cash-settled total return swaps. As a consequence of the forgoing transactions and as reflected on this Schedule 13D amendment, as of January 15, 2008, the Reporting Persons are reporting a net increase in economic exposure from the previously reported position of 104,701,613 shares (12.6%) to the current position of 104,916,080 shares (12.63%).”
Later in the filing:
“The Reporting Persons currently have contractual agreements with ten broker-dealer counterparties with regard to stock and cash settled call options and/or cash-settled total return swaps (the “Total Return Swaps”) that reference Common Stock of the Issuer. These Total Return Swaps constitute economic exposure to 2,500,000 shares of Common Stock in the aggregate, have reference prices ranging from $49.3256 to $51.2082 and expire on July 31, 2009.
Under the terms of these Total Return Swaps (i) the applicable Pershing Square-related counterparty will be obligated to pay to the broker-dealer counterparty any negative price performance of the notional number of shares of Common Stock subject to the applicable Total Return Swap as of the expiration date of such Total Return Swap, plus interest, and (ii) the broker-dealer counterparty will be obligated to pay to the applicable Pershing Square-related counterparty any positive price performance of the notional number of shares of Common Stock subject to the applicable Total Return Swap as of the expiration date of such Total Return Swap. Any dividends received by the broker-dealer counterparty on such notional shares of Common Stock during the term of the Total Return Swaps will be paid to the applicable Pershing Square-related counterparty. All balances will be cash settled. These option and swap contracts do not give the Reporting Persons direct or indirect voting, investment or dispositive control over any securities of the Issuer and do not require the counterparties thereto to acquire, hold, vote or dispose of any securities of the Issuer. Accordingly, the Reporting Persons disclaim any beneficial ownership in securities that may be referenced in such contracts or that may be held from time to time by any counterparties to the contracts. The broker-dealer counterparties to the option contracts and swap contracts reflected on this 13D Amendment No. 2 include entities related to BNP Paribas Bank (BNP), Credit Suisse (CS), Citigroup (C), Deutsche Bank (DB), Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Merrill Lynch (MER), Morgan Stanley (MS), UBS (UBS)and Suntrust Bank (STI).”
Got to give it to the guy, he sure sticks to his guns…
Disclosure: Long Citi and Goldman, None in others
