Hedge fund now No. 2 Hawaiian Air shareholder

A New York-based hedge fund is now the second-largest shareholder of Hawaiian Airlines' parent company, in the wake of purchases made following the shutdowns of Aloha Airlines and ATA Airlines.

Schultze Asset Management LLC went over the 10 percent threshold last week when it purchased 845,202 shares worth about $5.9 million at prices ranging from $6.84 to $7 on Thursday and Friday, according to a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The additional shares boost Schultze's holdings to 4.8 million shares, or 10.2 percent, leaving the Purchase, N.Y., firm behind only Hawaiian Holdings Inc. Chairman Larry Hershfield, who owns 10.8 percent of the company. Hershfield led an investment group, RC Aviation LLC, that brought Hawaiian out of bankruptcy in June 2005.

Schultze began buying Hawaiian's stock in the second quarter of 2005 and is the most-aggressive buyer of Hawaiian stock since the fourth quarter of 2005, according to research by InsiderScore.com. Schultze had sold approximately 201,700 shares of Hawaiian's shares during the first quarter of this year, but resumed buying this month.

On its Web site, Schultze describes itself as an event-driven, value investor. It says, "We seek to exploit inefficiencies and mispricings due to issuer distress across a range of corporate securities, in any part of the capital structure, at any point in the reorganization process."