Kimmeridge, an activist investor, takes a stake in US energy company Devon
Kimmeridge Energy Management, an activist investment firm, has acquired a stake in Devon Energy of the United States. This was revealed by a stock exchange filing on Friday.
THE DETAILS
Kimmeridge held 5.66 million Devon shares at the end of September according to the filing. According to calculations, this would equate an approximately 0.9% share in Devon. It is also the 14th largest shareholder of Devon according to data provider LSEG. Devon shares dropped 1% during the first 30 minutes of Friday's trading amid a wider market sell-off. The company now has a value of approximately $22 billion.
Kimmeridge's 13F filing did not include any information other than the number of shares it held at the end the third quarter and whether Kimmeridge had increased or decreased their position since then. The filing was made at the end of September, when investment firms were required to disclose their holdings in publicly traded companies.
Kimmeridge refused to comment when approached by. Devon didn't respond to a request for comment.
THE PLAYERS
Devon, based in Oklahoma City, is one of the largest independent U.S. producers of shale gas. It has operations across multiple formations, including the Delaware portion Permian Basin covering Texas and New Mexico; the Eagle Ford Formation of South Texas; and Oklahoma's Anadarko Basin.
Shares of the company have gained 4% in the past year, which is consistent with the performance S&P Energy Index.
Kimmeridge, one of the most well-known activists in the oil and natural gas industry, has pushed for improved governance, a focus on shareholder returns rather than expansive drilling programs and consolidations to achieve economies scale. Kimmeridge announced on November 4, that it owns a stake of Devon Energy's peer, Coterra Energy. It is pushing for leadership change and the sale its Appalachia operations and Oklahoma operations in order to concentrate on Coterra Delaware basin holding.
(source: Reuters)
