While Pardus Capital Management’s push for a major airline merger was taking flight, its performance was taking a nose-dive.

The New York-based activist hedge fund manager was down 23.8% last year, after a disastrous last two months of the year. The now-$2 billion hedge fund lost about $800 million, burned, in part, by the very airline bets that were putting its name in the headlines.

Pardus dropped 14% in November, followed by another 14.5% in December, the Financial Times reports. The fund was reportedly down last month, as well, although not nearly so catastrophically.

Late last year, Pardus began agitating for a merger between Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.

Unlike some of its subprime-struck peers, Pardus is in no danger of collapse, in spite of market rumors to the contrary. The firm uses no leverage, and lockup provisions will keep investors from fleeing for at least a year.