SPO Advisory Corp Ups Position in Laredo Petroleum Inc (LPI); Orange Capital Raises Activist Stake in Bellatrix Exploration Ltd (BXE)

A couple months ago, Laredo Petroleum Inc (NYSE:LPI) conducted an underwritten public offering of 69 million common shares, offered at $11.05 per share. In a statement, the company said that it plans to use proceeds from the share sale to repay all of its outstanding indebtedness under its senior secured credit facility, to redeem the outstanding $550 million of senior unsecured notes, and for capital expenditures. Among the largest shareholders of Laredo Petroleum Inc (NYSE:LPI) is Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital, which holds 1.64 million shares as of the end of March.

Let’s move on to Orange Capital now, which was founded by Daniel Lewis and Russell Hoffman in 2005. Orange Capital follows an event-driven investment strategy, focusing on opportunities arising from events like mergers and acquisitions, buyouts, bankruptcies, etc. The value of the fund’s public equity portfolio stood at $1.38 billion at the end of the first quarter. The finance sector comprised 66% of the fund’s holdings.

Bellatrix Exploration Ltd (NYSE:BXE) already represented one of the largest holdings in terms of value within Orange Capital’s public equity portfolio, as of the end of the first quarter. The $539.40-million market cap oil and gas company is engaged in the exploration and production business. The company’s stock has not been performing well, losing 68.15% during the past year. The company reported a net loss of $12.69 million for the quarter ending March 31, compared to net income of $25.17 million for the same quarter last year. Despite poor stock performance, Bellatrix Exploration Ltd (NYSE:BXE) remained the top micro-cap holding of Seth Klarman’s Baupost Group at the end of the first quarter. The world’s 11th-largest hedge fund upped its stake in the company by 21% to 21.84 million shares in the first quarter.

Disclosure: None