(Bloomberg) -- Former Elliott Investment Management portfolio manager Mark Wills is starting a hedge fund focused on the financial services sector, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Cisu Capital Partners will launch in the second quarter with $200 million to $300 million in capital, based on existing commitments and ongoing talks with investors, according to the people.

The firm will pursue an equity long-short strategy focused on corporate events, they said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. 

Wills is opening Cisu with founding partners Benedict Middelmann and Niklas von Daehne, the people said. Middelmann is an ex-Elliott analyst, while Von Daehne was most recently a partner at Gladstone Management. 

Wills declined to comment. Middelmann and Von Daehne didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Elliott, one of the world’s best known activist investment firms, has seen a number of its executives strike out on their own in recent years. They include Adam Katz, who co-runs Irenic Capital Management, Franck Tuil, founder of Sparta Capital Management and James Smith, chief investment officer at Palliser Capital.

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