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BlackRock restricts share lending after short selling attack on Blinkx
World's largest asset manager changes policy after losing £30m in a day over controversial blog by Harvard professor
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has barred its City office from loaning shares following a short selling attack on Blinkx, a London-listed online video advertising company in which it is biggest shareholder, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose.
Blinkx lost a third of its value in a day in January after Ben Edelman, a Harvard University Business School professor, published a 3,500-word blog post expressing “grave doubts” over the company’s prospects and criticising the “opacity” of its statements to the stock market. The company rejected his claims but the damage was done.
Professor Edelman said he had been hired by third parties to investigate Blinkx on condition of anonymity. The admission prompted accusations of a ‘bear raid’, whereby short sellers, who effectively bet that a share price will fall, aim to force it lower with negative information about a company.
At the time, BlackRock was allowing its back office to loan a portion of its Blinkx stock to short sellers. It meant that when Professor Edelman published his blog, BlackRock was helping to drive the price lower. At the time BlackRock owned 11.6pc of Blinkx, meaning it lost nearly £30m in a day.
The episode has led to a change in policy at the asset manager, it is understood, amid concerns that bear raiders are on the lookout for more targets. BlackRock no longer loans out its shares, sources said.
At the time of the raid, more than 15pc of Blinkx share were out on loan, according to data from Markit. Today the figure is only 3pc, although traders are still betting against the stock and it is the eleventh most shorted company on Aim. They enjoyed more rewards last week when Blinkx issued a profit warning and shares tumbled again.
Since Blinkx was apparently targeted, Quindell, a British company which provides technology and consultancy to the insurance industry, has also been targeted by criticism from the United States. BlackRock is not a major shareholder but holds the stock as part of its tracker funds.
Gotham City Research, the mysterious organisation that delivered a bonanza to Quindell short sellers in April, returned to the fray last week with an attack on Gowex, a Spanish wireless internet provider.
BlackRock declined to comment.