U.S. investor Paulson raises stake in NOL

U.S. investor Paulson raises stake in NOL    Paulson & Co. Inc., a fund management firm based in New York, has raised its stake in Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines from 6.05 percent to 8.35 percent by buying about 33,300 shares in the shipping and logistics group on Sept. 3 and Tuesday.
   The share purchases in the open market were announced by NOL to the Singapore stock market. Paulson & Co. was already registered as one of the “substantial shareholders” of NOL. NOL did not report the purchase price paid by the fund management company.
   Paulson & Co. recently urged the management of NOL, the parent company of APL and APL Logistics, to put itself up for auction because it believes a takeover bid received from Singapore government agency Temasek does not reflect its full value.
   On Aug. 3, minority shareholder Temasek bid about S$2.8 billion ($1.6 billion) — or S$2.80 ($1.60) per share — to buy the NOL shares it did not already own. However, the purchases by Paulson & Co. now add more uncertainty to the proposed takeover bid by Temasek. The Temasek cash offer expires Sept. 15.