Pengrowth stock has been steadily rising this year and shot up after it became public that Mr. Schulich had acquired a minority position.Larry MacDougal/The Globe and Mail
Canadian billionaire Seymour Schulich, who has just increased his position in Pengrowth Energy Corp., now says he plans to take an even bigger stake in the battered energy company.
"We want more," Mr. Schulich said. "We want to be in a position to block any bids."
Mr. Schulich, co-founder of Franco-Nevada gold company, has been quickly building a position in Pengrowth. He announced that he had acquired a 14.7-per-cent stake in the company in March. He then boosted his investment to 15.7 per cent last Wednesday. Less than a week later, Mr. Schulich gobbled more shares on the open market, raising his stake to nearly 17 per cent. He did not say on Tuesday how much more he would like to acquire.
"This stock at this price is ridiculous. We think it is a $10 stock," he said.
Pengrowth shares surged after it became public that Mr. Schulich had acquired a minority position in the company. Pengrowth is now trading around $2 a share, double the price at the beginning of the year, although still a fraction of its $25 stock price in 2006.
Mr. Schulich's investment in Pengrowth comes after a high-profile spat involving one of his previous energy investments, Canadian Oil Sands Ltd.
Mr. Schulich led the fight against Suncor Energy Inc.'s hostile bid for Canadian Oil Sands (also known as COS), taking out full page ads in newspapers denouncing the deal as undervalued. Suncor eventually increased its offer, winning Mr. Schulich's support.
"We don't want to see the same thing happen that happened at COS," he said.
Earlier this year, Pengrowth slashed its budget by more than half to deal with the slump in oil prices. The company is under pressure to reduce its debt and has said it will sell assets to help improve its balance sheet.
The 76-year-old Mr. Schulich typically holds only a handful of stocks, and said he does not believe in being "over-diversified."
He has stakes in Birchcliff Energy Ltd. and San Juan Basin Royalty Trust as well as Barrick Gold Corp.
Rachelle Younglai