Tuesday, May 31, 2011

How One Typo May Mean Goldman Just Blew $45 Million

Who says there's no God? BusinessInsider reports that according to the Economist (via FT Alphaville), on February 11th this year, the bank issued four warrants tied to the index "which were described in three separate filings amounting to several hundred pages."

Inside those several hundred pages, was a formula that determined the settlement price of the warrant. The formula read: (Closing Level – Strike Level) x Index Currency Amount x Exchange RateIt was supposed read: (Closing Level – Strike Level) x Index Currency Amount / Exchange Rate Goldman lawyers alerted the exchange to the mistake on March 31 and according to the Economist, the notes have been frozen ever since.

Now, Goldman has offered "to buy back the warrants from holders for a 10% premium on their purchase price, plus a fixed payment to cover broker fees." They say they're covered by their prospectus, which actually has a specific clause about dealing with such errors. But the warrant holders, of which there are 124, obviously want Goldman to honor the formula which was sent out -- a formula that would entitle holders to a pool worth about $45 million (HK$350m), instead of the $1.3 million Goldman is offering. Pity....

http://www.businessinsider.com/a-typo-by-goldman-sachs-just-cost-the-bank-45-million-instead-of-13-million-2011-5

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