Merger Arbitrage Funds Debut Amid Optimism Over Deals Resurgence

With the deal market showing signs of life, a couple of standalone merger arbitrage funds have emerged to bet on the anticipated activity after a long dormancy last year.

Taconic Capital Advisors, which has invested in merger arbitrage since its 1999 inception, opened a single-strategy fund this month aiming to raise as much as $1 billion, according to regulatory filings and a person familiar with the situation.

And Charles Slotnik, who has been doing merger arbitrage for more than three decades, disclosed last month that he’d raised some $260 million for a standalone fund since spinning off from ...