Goldman Sachs Group Inc. liquidated $10.5 billion worth of stocks in block trades on Friday, part of an extraordinary spree of selling that erased $35 billion from the values of leading stocks ranging from Chinese technology giants to U.S. media conglomerates.
On Sunday, a Bloomberg story identified the primary reason.
Former Tiger Management trader Bill Hwang’s family, according to Bloomberg, was responsible, according to two people directly familiar with the trades, who added in the report that Archegos Capital Management was forced by its banks to sell more than $20 billion worth of shares after some positions moved against Hwang.
From Bloomberg:
“In December 2012, Hwang admitted to illegally using inside information to trade Chinese bank stocks and agreed to criminal and civil settlements of more than $60 million.”
Premier business names made up a good deal of the movement.
Goldman Sachs had already sold $6.6 billion worth of shares of Baidu Inc., Tencent Music Entertainment Group and Vipshop Holdings Ltd. before the market opened in the U.S, according to an email to clients seen by Bloomberg News.
Morgan Stanley traded about $13 billion, including Farfetch Ltd., Discovery Inc., Baidu Inc. and GSX Techedu Inc., said the people.
That move was followed by the sale of $3.9 billion of shares in ViacomCBS Inc. and iQiyi Inc. the email said.
Hwang didn’t reply to a Bloomberg email seeking comment Sunday. A Goldman spokesperson declined to comment and a Morgan Stanley official didn’t immediately respond.
ViacomCBS and Discovery had taken huge hits on Friday.
ViacomCBS closed 27% lower to $48.23, down from a high of $100.34 on March 22. Discovery also fell 27% to $41.90, down from $77.27 on March 19.
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