New Delhi, Oct. 23 -- Two hedge funds and an activist investor built stakes worth a combined €728 million in Italian truckmaker Iveco months before Tata Motors Ltd's takeover offer opened, positioning themselves for about €350 million in returns from Iveco's sale of its defence business to Leonardo and Tata's proposed buyout of the rest. According to Mint's review of disclosures and calculations, Davidson Kempner, Syquant Capital and Petrus Advisers accumulated their positions between July 2025 and September 2026, after Tata announced the deal and before it opened the offer for subscription. At Tata's revised offer price of €14.40 per share, the three investors could make a combined gain of about €63 million, in addition to the estimated €288 million in extraordinary dividends received from Iveco in April. Together they hold about 20.4% of Iveco's common shares, according to an executive familiar with the matter, and their decision on whether to tender could determine whether Tata Motors reaches the 80% threshold needed to take full control of the Italian truckmaker and delist it. The stakes have become particularly significant because at least one of the investors, Petrus, has valued Iveco's shares well above Tata's offer price. In a presentation to shareholders on 29 September, reviewed by Mint, the activist investor estimated Iveco's fair value at about €18 per share, roughly 25% above the offer. Tata first announced the acquisition in July 2025, agreeing to buy Iveco's commercial vehicle business for about €3.8 billion. The deal excluded Iveco's defence business, which was subsequently sold to Leonardo at an enterprise value of €1.7 billion. The proceeds were distributed to shareholders through dividends in April 2026. Completion of Tata's acquisition was contingent on the successful sale of the defence business. The three investors, hedge funds Davidson Kempner and Syquant Capital and activist investor Petrus Advisers, are among Iveco's largest shareholders after its promoter, Exor. While Exor has tendered its stake, the three funds have not subscribed to the offer more than a month after it opened on 7 September. Their participation could prove critical to Tata Motors securing the required shareholder support. Davidson Kempner-controlled Harp Investments first disclosed a 7.99% stake in February 2026 and increased it to more than 10% by September. Based on the 90-day average share price up to and including the date of its first disclosure, the 7.99% stake represented an investment of about €285 million. At Tata's offer price of €14.40, it could generate a gain of about €27 million. The additional roughly 2% stake acquired by September represents a further estimated investment of about €76 million and could generate an additional gain of about €2 million at the offer price. Syquant held about 3.28% of Iveco at the end of December 2025 and increased its holding to about 6.45% by March 2026. Its initial 3.28% position represents an estimated investment of about €116 million, based on the 90-day average share price at the end of December, and could generate a gain of about €13 million at €14.40. Its additional roughly 3.17% stake represents an estimated investment of about €114 million, based on the 90-day average price in March, and could generate a further gain of about €10 million at the offer price. Petrus' roughly 3.8% holding represents an estimated investment of about €137 million on the same basis. At Tata's offer price, the position could generate an implied gain of about €11 million. Based on their estimated pre-dividend holdings, Harp, Syquant and Petrus together could have received about €288 million from the dividend distribution. Davidson Kempner's 7.99% stake would have yielded about €126 million, Syquant's 6.47% stake about €102 million and Petrus' 3.8% stake about €60 million. The potential gains come as Tata Motors races to secure enough shareholder support. As of 21 October, shareholders had tendered about 33.4% of Iveco's shares. The offer closes on 26 October, leaving three trading days for Tata to secure enough additional tenders to cross the 80% threshold....