REUTERS/Mike Blake
- Maplelane Capital is making a $115 million bearish bet on one of Europe's newest tech darlings - Dutch payment company Adyen.
- It's part of a trend where more hedge funds have been heaping skepticism on recently IPO'd European companies, including UK-based luxury carmaker Aston Martin.
- Adyen's shares have almost tripled since its June 2018 IPO, sending its market cap to almost €20 billion.
A little-known hedge fund called Maplelane Capital is making a $115 million bearish bet on one of Europe's newest tech darlings - Dutch payment company Adyen. It's part of a trend where more hedge funds have been heaping skepticism on recently IPO'd European companies.
Mapelane, a New York fund that was founded in 2010, placed a short position that represents 0.53% of Adyen stock on February 12, filings show. The fund built its position right before Adyen's earnings, which are due on February 27.
"This is the first big short in Adyen," says short research firm Breakout Point, which defines "big" as a position worth more than 0.5% of the shares. The trade is worth some €102 million ($115 million), which is "among the bigger individual shorts in all of EU short-selling records."
Shares in Adyen, led by CEO Pieter van der Does, have surged more than 170% since the company's June 2018 IPO, sending its market cap to almost €20 billion. That a 12-year-old payment company can so swiftly reach a Deutsche Bank-sized market capitalization has not gone unnoticed.
"We have noted a number of new short bets against recently IPO'd EU firms," Breakout Point said, noting an Oceanwood short in UK-listed guarantor loans lender Amigo Holdings; Soros Fund Management's short in Denmark's IT services company Netcompany, and "several big shorts" in Aston Martin.
Adyen and Aston Martin were among the biggest IPOs in Europe last year, according to accountancy and auditing firm PwC.
Maplelane popped up in filings with another short - a 0.67% position betting against Casino. The French grocery company is no stranger to short-sellers: Muddy Waters Capital, founded by Carson Block, shorted Casino back in 2015, accusing the supermarket operator of "financial engineering." Casino has denied the claims.
Unlike in the US, some European regulators require investors to disclose short positions when they exceed a certain percentage of the stock.
Mapelane is led by Leon Shaulov, a former trader at now shuttered Galleon Group.
A New York-listed number for Maplelane was not answered.