Matthew Goldstein

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Refco Owes Jim Rogers Fund $362 Million

Matthew Goldstein

Investment guru Jim Rogers could be one of the losers in the collapse of Refco(RFX Quote), the scandal-tarred commodities and derivatives brokerage.

A Rogers-managed investment fund is one of the largest unsecured creditors of Refco, according to the bankruptcy petition filed by Refco Inc. in New York.

The Rogers Raw Material Fund is owed more than $362 million, according to the filing. The fund is managed by Chicago-based Beeland Management Co., of which Rogers is majority owner. It trades in a portfolio of exchange-traded commodity futures and forward contracts.

Rogers was not immediately available for comment. An employee with Beeland said the fund's officials were meeting Tuesday to discuss the situation.

Rogers, a frequent guest on television business shows, has written several popular investment books.

In July, Beeland hired Robert Mercorella, Refco's former director of global marketing and business development, as its chief operating officer.

Last week, prior to the bankruptcy, Beeland sent a letter to investors saying it transferred "all trade execution to Refco effective Sept. 30, 2005, with funds in government securities held by Refco Capital Markets.

"Beeland has requested a transfer of all funds and positions to a replacement futures commission merchant. That request has not yet been honored due to the freezing of many customer funds," the statement, which was obtained by TheStreet.com, said.

In a bankruptcy proceeding, unsecured creditors typically stand at the back of the line, along with shareholders, in getting their claims paid off. Secured lenders, such as banks and some bondholders, tend to get paid first.

It's unlikely Rogers will be totally out of luck. The bankruptcy filing says some of the money owed to unsecured creditors could be "an obligation to return to securities or currency."

Complicating matters is that Refco's bankruptcy is occurring as the company tries to liquidate two of its divisions, Refco Capital Markets and Refco Securities. Some of the unsecured claims listed by Refco could include a mix of loans and securities held in customer accounts.

One unsecured creditor says he's confident his company will get most of its money back because the claim is on securities held by Refco Capital Markets. The creditor, who didn't want to be identified, says getting the money back will take time, but he isn't writing it off.

Refco's parent company filed for bankruptcy after negotiating a planned sale of its main futures business to a consortium led by hedge fund J.C. Flowers for $768 million. The bankruptcy petition makes no mention of the planned sale, but it's expected the company will seek court approval soon.

A memorandum of understanding between J.C. Flowers and Refco says Refco must file a motion with the bankruptcy court by Oct. 21 seeking judicial approval for the sale. The goal is to have the transaction completed by Nov. 10. The agreement says the net regulatory capital of the futures operation is $746 million.

The list of unsecured creditors include a number of foreign hedge funds, many from Russia and eastern European countries. Several small brokerages also are included in the list.

The third-largest unsecured creditor is VR Global Partners of Moscow, which is owed $380 million.

The biggest bank listed as unsecured creditors are Austria's Bank fur Arbeit und Wirtschaft, or Bawag. The bank is on the hook for $451 million.

It's believed that much of that money was in the form or loan to former Refco CEO Phillip Bennett, which he used to pay down a $430 million obligation he was hiding from Refco investors. Bennett's alleged deception led to the collapse of the firm and the filing of criminal charges against him.

Bawag has not confirmed it was the source of the loan to Bennett, but the bank said this weekend that it has a $510 million exposure to Refco. The bank said it has "collateral'' to collect on it, if the outstanding debt is not repaid.

Another big bank creditor is Wells Fargo(WFC Quote), which is owed about $390 million.

The filing, prepared by lawyers at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, says Refco has $48.7 billion in assets and $48.6 billion in liabilities. The firm has a $644 million bank loan outstanding and $600 million in bonds. The number of bondholders is unknown.

Thomas H. Lee Partners, the Boston-based buyout firm that sank $507 million into Refco in exchange for a 49% equity stake. In Refco's $583 million IPO, the buyout firm raked in about $165 million, but it still owns 38% of the company's stock.

The filing still lists Bennett's Refco Group Holdings, the private company he used to hide the $430 million, as holding 34% of the company's outstanding stock. Since those shares were pledged as collateral to Bawag for the loan, it's not clear whether Bennett owns them anymore.