Breeden Hopes to Win the Name Game

His biggest achievement was to restore trust in MCI, as a corporate monitor appointed by a judge just a few days before MCI's predecessor, WorldCom, filed for bankruptcy three years ago.

His marketing brochure reminds readers that Breeden's work as a corporate monitor contributed to a $10.4 billion increase in MCI enterprise value within two years of his appointment, or a 20 times increase compared to the initial estimated liquidation value. He also played an active role in repairing a messy Hollinger and restoring its stock value, as a monitor appointed by the SEC in 2003.

In addition, three of his partners -- David Mimran, Steven Quamme and Faisal Hassan -- are M&A and private-equity specialists who worked at investment bank Milestone Merchant Partners.

"A hedge fund is just a structure. It is a regulated structure that allows you to run money. What you do with it is very open-ended," says David Ikenberry, finance professor at University of Illinois. "He is Richard Breeden. That's not a flight-by-night name. People know him. I think he'll get funded in the first run. I'll be very surprised if he wouldn't."