Orange Capital Further Raises Stake in This Company and Appoints Two Directors

In a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Daniel LewisOrange Capital reported raising their stake in Bellatrix Exploration Ltd (NYSE:BXE). Orange currently owns some 27.45 million shares of the company, up from 25.76 million shares held earlier. Following the increase, Orange holds an activist stake that amasses 14.3% of Bellatrix’s common stock, versus 13.5% disclosed in an earlier filing.

Daniel Lewis - Orange Capital

Since Orange holds an activist stake in Bellatrix Exploration Ltd (NYSE:BXE), the fund has recently entered into an agreement with the company regarding the board of directors composition. Under the terms of the agreement, the company will nominate Danile Lewis and Steven J. Pully to be elected to the board at the 2015 meeting of shareholders and will take all the steps necessary to appoint them to the board, effective January 1.

The recent increase of the position in Bellatrix Exploration Ltd (NYSE:BXE) comes only a couple of weeks after Orange raised the stake from 23.8 million shares, which represented 12.4% of the company. The fund has been bullish on the stock since adding it to its equity portfolio during the third quarter of 2014. In the latest round of 13F filings, Bellatrix was already the largest long equity position in terms of value, amassing almost 8% of Orange’s $1.40 billion equity portfolio. In October, the fund further raised its stake to 21.16 million shares from 17.49 million shares that it disclosed in its latest 13F filing.

Meanwhile, the stock of Bellatrix Exploration Ltd (NYSE:BXE) fell by more than 44% since the end of September. The decline came on the back of a major slump in oil stocks, but the small-cap Canada-based oil & gas exploration and production company has made some moves that will strenghten the company in the long run. At the beginning of December, the company announced that it had acquired $118 million worth of assets within its Aldre Flats region that will add around 2,200 barrels of oil equivalent per day to its production.

Orange Capital is the shareholder with the largest stake in Bellatrix Exploration Ltd (NYSE:BXE) among institutional investors. In addition, David Dreman‘s Dreman Value Management disclosed holding 864,500 shares in its latest 13F filing, followed by Mark Rachesky‘s MHR Fund Management with 530,000 shares.

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