(Bloomberg News) Genworth Financial Inc., the life insurer and mortgage guarantor, surged in New York as investor hedge fund Highfields Capital Management LP said it is in talks with management about increasing the value of its stake.
Genworth jumped 6.9 percent to $5.25 at 1:37 p.m.
Highfields, led by Jonathon Jacobson, has a stake of more than 25 million shares, or about 5.2 percent, the firm said in a regulatory filing today. The Richmond, Virginia-based insurer is seeking to limit losses tied to home loans and focus on more profitable business segments as the board looks for a chief executive officer after the resignation in May of Michael Fraizer.
The talks cover Genworth's "global mortgage insurance assets, its U.S. mortgage insurance assets and its retirement and protection businesses," Boston-based Highfields said in the filing. "Such discussions will address risk mitigation strategies, possible sale or spin of assets, and similar matters."