Farallon Announces Large Energy Partners Stake

Wednesday after market close, Thomas Steyer's hedge fund Farallon Capital filed a 13G on Energy Partners (EPL). In it, Farallon disclosed a 12.3% ownership stake with 4,903,423 shares. The filing was made due to activity on September 21st, 2009 and this is a brand new position for the hedge fund. Farallon did not hold a position in Energy Partners back on June 30th when it disclosed its portfolio in its 13F filing. However, one highly likely possibility is that Farallon held senior notes that were converted into equity recently as EPL emerged from Chapter 11. This action comes right after we saw Steyer's hedge fund adjust its Capitalsource position (CSE) Wednesday.

Farallon is a $1.5+ billion hedge fund founded by Thomas Steyer in 1986. It usually invests in equities, private investments, debt, and real estate. While Farallon has a solid track record, 2008 was definitely a chink in the armor. After receiving redemption requests for almost 25% of its main fund's capital, Farallon suspended withdrawals. Its poor 2008 also put it on the dreaded list of the top 10 asset losers. Read more about Farallon in our post about the fund's background and positions.

Taken from Google Finance:

Energy Partners is "an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. As of December 31, 2008, the Company had estimated proved reserves of approximately 90.8 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas and 21.6 million barrels (Mmbbls) of oil, or an aggregate of approximately 36.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (Mmboe). The Company’s operations are concentrated in the shallow to moderate-depth waters in the Gulf of Mexico focusing on the areas offshore Louisiana, as well as the deepwater Gulf of Mexico at depths less than 5,000 feet."