UPDATE 1-Quadrangle Group closing media-focused hedge fund
(Adds sourcing, details on fund, media industry, byline, NEW YORK to dateline)
NEW YORK, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Quadrangle Equity Investors, a hedge fund that concentrates on media and communications stocks, will wind down its business after losses and investor redemptions, according to people familiar with the situation.
The relatively small fund employs fewer than a half dozen people, but it is part of Steve Rattner's prominent Quadrangle Group LLC and so is well-known in media circles.
Quadrangle Equity, like other funds investing in media, has struggled as media stock prices have been hit hard by an advertising downturn and worries that consumers will sharply curtail spending on entertainment.
The equity fund, which at one time managed about $500 million, is down some 25 percent so far this year, sources said. It has been run by Robert Donahue.
Rattner has strong ties to both the investing and media worlds, having served as the deputy chairman of Lazard and, earlier in his career, as a reporter for The New York Times.
Since Rattner helped found Quadrangle Group in March 2000, the firm has become a key player in media circles, known both for its investments and its annual Foursquare conference, which wrapped up this week in New York.
The exclusive conference regularly draws some of the biggest names in the industry, including Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, CBS Corp's (CBS.N) CEO Leslie Moonves, IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI.O) CEO Barry Diller and News Corp NWSa.N President Peter Chernin.
In addition to its stock investing business, Quadrangle Group includes private equity and asset management arms, with offices in New York, London, Hong Kong and Silicon Valley.
Earlier this year, another Quadrangle Group fund, now known as Monarch Alternative Capital, bought itself out so its principals could run the hedge fund on their own. That deal was said to have been done at a profit for Quadrangle Group. (Additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)
