Large SolarCity owner cuts stake in second quarter

Business

A large SolarCity Corp (O:SCTY) hedge fund investor cut most of its stake in the solar panel installer during the second quarter, quarterly filings show, the period when the company received a buyout offer from Tesla Motors Inc (O:TSLA).

Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co listed owning 43,840 shares of SolarCity at the end of June, down from 832,139 shares of the company at the end of the first quarter, a recent securities filing showed.

During the same period, Gilder Gagnon of New York boosted its stake in Tesla 24 percent to 808,661 shares.

SolarCity this month accepted a $2.6 billion offer from electric carmaker Tesla, a deal first announced on June 21 and a step in the plan of Elon Musk to create a carbon-free energy and transportation company.

Musk is chief executive of Tesla, chairman of both companies and their biggest shareholder. Shares of SolarCity have fallen more than half this year, making some skeptical of the deal that caused Tesla's stock to drop 10 percent on the first trading day after the merger was announced. Tesla shares have since recovered.

Source by Reuters