Scavengers and scratchers of value
In Greek mythology, Cerberus was a three-headed dog with a mane and a tail of snakes that guarded the gates of Hades. One of the 12 labours of Hercules was to capture him.
It's an appropriate name for a vulture fund that's reckoned by some to have been the most active player in the Asian distressed debt market in the first six months of 1998.
"There is no doubt that Cerberus can move the market," says one rival. "These guys are big players."
Looking east
The New York-based hedge fund has almost $4 billion under management globally and was founded nine years ago to look into distressed debt opportunities in the US. The firm began looking at Asia earlier this year and opened offices in Hong Kong and Japan.
With its Asian expansion in mind, it hired Victor Khosla from Merrill Lynch. He brought with him a team of people including Scott Cohen who ran Merrill's non-Japan Asia distressed asset business.
Cohen is part of a small team of three in Hong Kong and is one of two managing directors along with Jaideep Krishna.