Mandelblatt’s Soroban Capital Unveils Big Stake In California Resources Corporation

Last November, Occidental Petroleum (OXYspun off its California oil & gas holdings into a standalone company, the California Resources Corporation (CRC). Lets just say the new entity faced a lot of headwinds, but one thing few predicted was the coming plunge in oil prices. As a result, CRC has had a rough go of it on its own with the stock down a bit since the spinoff.

Perhaps that means there is some opportunity? Eric Mandelblatt seems to think so as his Soroban Capital filed a 13D disclosing a nearly 10% stake in the company. Mr. Mandelblatt has experience in the oil & gas industry so it will be interesting to see what he has in mind. Unfortunately, the filing just had some boilerplate language and didn’t reveal any strategies or plans. One hint might be found through Soroban’s partner in crime. Looking at the filing, Soroban actually owns just a little over 8% of the shares, with the rest of the stake being held by a cooperating partner, Seis Capital. That entity is run by the former President of Kinder Morgan, C Park Shaper. Perhaps they have some ideas as to how and who should run the company?

Shares popped on news of the 13D so this is definitely a situation worth watching, but the price of oil and any local regulations will likely have a stronger impact on the company.

Disclosure: Author holds no position in any stock mentioned.