UPDATE 1-FRM Credit Alpha delays plans to raise 75 mln stg
(Rewrites throughout, adds senior vice president quotes)
LONDON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Fund of hedge funds FRM Credit Alpha FCAPpq.L has postponed plans to raise up to 75 million pounds ($138.3 million) because of sharp market volatility following last week's collapse of Lehman Brothers (LEHMQ.PK). The fund, which holds a focused portfolio of credit hedge funds, said in a statement that it was in the best interests of both itself and prospective investors to delay the offer and placing. "It's just uncertainty in the market. It's our current position with regard to news over the last week or so," said Luke Burdess, senior vice president at Financial Risk Management, which manages the fund.
"We're confident we'll be able to do something, but obviously with market volatility and uncertainty it's not an ideal time to raise money ... It's unfortunate it (the fundraising) was due to close today." Last week saw huge swings in stock markets after the collapse of Lehman, the $50 billion sale of Merrill Lynch MER.N to Bank of America (BAC.N), the $85 billion rescue of AIG (AIG.N) and plans for a $700 billion U.S. government bailout of the financial sector.
FRM Credit Alpha's net asset value has risen 2.7 percent in the first 8 months of the year, compared with a 9.9 percent decline in the FTSE 100 .FTSE index. (Reporting by Laurence Fletcher; Editing by Quentin Bryar)
