Ravi Sood

Ravi Sood
Residence Hong Kong SAR, China
Nationality Canadian
Education B.Math (Honours)
Alma mater University of Waterloo
Known for Agriculture, Mining, Africa, Natural Resources
Website

Feronia Inc.

Galane Gold Ltd.

Ravi Sood (born July 5, 1976) is a Canadian financier and venture capitalist. Sood was raised in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada and resides in Hong Kong. He was educated at the University of Waterloo (B. Mathematics) where he was the recipient of numerous scholarships and awards including a René Descartes Fellowship, a Canada Scholarship in Technology, and a National Corporate Scholarship awarded by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. He is the co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Navina Asset Management Inc. and its predecessor company Lawrence Asset Management Inc which at its peak controlled over $800 million in assets globally.[1] On August 6, 2010 Navina Asset Management Inc. was sold to Aston Hill Financial.[2] On November 1, 2010 Aston Hill reported that Ravi Sood was no longer employed by the company and had moved on to other endeavors.[3]

Sood has also founded several businesses operating in emerging markets including Buchanan Renewables, Feronia Inc., Transeastern Power Trust, and Galane Gold. Buchanan Renewables is an innovator in the commercialization of biomass and a major contributor in the reconstruction of Liberia as featured in Time Magazine[4] and the Financial Times. Buchanan raised nearly $200 million in debt funding from the US Government Overseas Private Investment Corporation.[5] The company was acquired from Sood by a Swiss group and a consortium of Swedish investors including Vattenfall AB and Swedfund.[6] Feronia Inc., where Sood serves as Chairman, is as a result of the acquisition of a division of Unilever plc one of Africa's oldest companies and largest employers with both oil palm plantations and arable farming operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Feronia has attracted bluechip global investors as backers including the UK’s Development Finance Institution, the CDC Group. In 2010 Sood and his partners founded Galane Gold Ltd. which in 2011 acquired the Mupane Gold Mines in Botswana. Galane currently produces approximately 50,000 ounces of gold annually. He also currently serves as a Director of Elgin Mining Inc., the owner and operator of Sweden's largest gold mine.

Sood built a reputation as a successful investor in Canadian capital markets but suffered major financial losses during the Global Financial Crisis. In 2008, after a decade-long streak of positive returns, the “Hedge Fund Master” [7] registered an 80.6% loss in his flagship Lawrence Partners Fund. Most of the losses were incurred during the week of September 15, 2008 in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

In 2008 Sood was hit with a $6 million libel lawsuit launched against him by Timminco Inc.[8] Sood established a short position betting the shares would decline and in television and print interviews proclaimed that “There is no evidence that they have any sort of proprietary technology. There is no evidence that they can actually deliver on their claims” and also that the shares were “virtually worthless”. Sood was completely vindicated as Timminco's shares declined over 99% from their peak after the company shuttered the solar grade silicon business that was the basis for his criticisms and on January 3, 2012 the company declared bankruptcy and filed for creditor protection.[9] In September, 2012 Sood was featured on the cover of the Globe and Mail's Report on Business Magazine in a story recounting the demise of Timminco[10]

Sood gained notoriety as a shareholder activist having launched a hostile takeover bid for Harrowston Inc.[11] and engaged in numerous proxy battles in his career,[12] In 2009 roles were reversed when one of Sood's investment holding companies became the target of a dissident shareholder group seeking to oust him and his board. The campaign failed with Sood’s board winning approximately 80% of the votes and remaining in place.[13]

Sood became well known in Canada as a regular TV personality and frequent guest host of the Business News Network’s evening news programme “Squeeze Play”. He is best known for commenting in the media on the income trust sector,[14] global markets,[15] natural resources and agriculture.[16][17][18]

References

  1. ↑ Lawrence Asset Management and Navina Capital merge to form Navina Asset Management http://smr.newswire.ca/en/navina/lawrence-asset-management-inc-and-navina-capital-corp
  2. ↑ Aston Hill Announces Agreement to Acquire Navina Asset Management Inc http://www.astonhill.ca/news/2010-06-07.html
  3. ↑ Money Manager Ravi Sood Leaves Aston Hill http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/money-manager-ravi-sood-leaves-aston-hill-financial/article1781501/
  4. ↑ Rebuilding Liberia http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1908311,00.html
  5. ↑ OPIC Board Approves Funding http://www.opic.gov/news/press-releases/2009/pr031011
  6. ↑ Vattenfall AB acquires shares of Buchanan Renewables Fuel Ltd. in Liberia http://www.buchananrenewables.com/assets/pdf/VF-BR%20Press%20Release%20June%202010.pdf
  7. ↑ The Globe & Mail. November 12, 2008. Shirley Won and Andrew Willis. “Meltdown Sets Back Hedge Fund Master” http://www.investorvillage.com/groups.asp?mb=6781&mid=6088604&pt=msg
  8. ↑ Timminco Sues for Libel http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/timminco-sues-for-libel-969/
  9. ↑ Timminco Files for Bankruptcy http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/64153--silicon-producer-timminco-files-for-bankruptcy-restructuring-under-ccaa
  10. ↑ Timminco: How Eric Sprott got Solar Burn http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/timminco-how-eric-sprott-got-solar-burn/article4502829/?page=all
  11. ↑ TD Capital tops Hostile Bid for Harrowston
  12. ↑ Homeland Energy Acknowledges Receipt of Notice from Shareholder http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/homeland-energy-acknowledges-receipt-notice-from-heg-shareholder-requesting-annual-general-tsx-heg-956089.htm
  13. ↑ Trinorth Capital Management wins Proxy Contest http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/funds-and-etfs/fund-watch/trinorth-capital-management-wins-proxy-contest/article1192480/
  14. ↑ National Post’s Financial Post & FP Investing. November 5, 2005. Diane Francis. “Lawrence report might help Goodale”. Toronto. http://www.financialpost.com/scripts/story.html?id=1d3912fa-ac97-4f40-9d2e-c6926cc853f4&k=31265
  15. ↑ BNN: Squeezeplay. June 30, 2009: Overseas Funds [06-30-09 5:30PM]. http://watch.bnn.ca/squeezeplay/june-2009/squeezeplay-june-30-2009/#clip189113
  16. ↑ The Globe and Mail, GlobeInvestor. January 11, 2010. “How best to invest in agriculture.” http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/how-best-to-invest-in-agriculture/article1423758/
  17. ↑ "Investing in Agriculture" http://agvisiontv.farms.com/
  18. ↑ BHP aims to go solo on potash marketing but honour existing Canpotex commitments
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