Houston Chronicle – Houston Exploration is in for a bare-knuckled brawl with a New York investor that has publicly slammed the energy outfit for “shocking disregard to the pursuit of shareholdervalue.”
What’s the beef? Jana Partners, a $5 billion hedge fund that owns 9 percent of the company’s stock, is incensed at Houston Exploration’s plan to sell Gulf of Mexico assets for $590 million and funnel the proceeds into new natural gas plays in South Texas, Arkansas and the Rockies.
Houston Exploration argues that these resources are hot plays filled with natural gas in high demand. Jana Managing Partner Barry Rosenstein thinks the company’s historic rate of return on investments of the sort stinks.
He would rather see that money go into a massive share repurchase program, a move sure to buoy Houston Exploration’s stock price, which has been a laggard when compared to peer companies Newfield Energy and Forest Oil.
