Billionaire Richard Chandler’s company sold its stake in InterOil Corp., while the firm that manages Steven A. Cohen’s $11 billion fortune acquired shares in the Papua New Guinea-focused explorer.
Chandler Corp.’s Orchid Capital Investments unit no longer holds any InterOil stock, according to a filing dated Tuesday. Orchid said earlier this month that it had sold about 6.1 percent of the Singapore-based company at an average price of $45 a share, leaving it with 9.9 percent.
New Zealand–born Chandler is exiting as InterOil proceeds with plans to develop a natural gas export project in Papua New Guinea with partner Total SA. InterOil has lost almost a quarter of its value in New York over the past 12 months, with the shares closing Tuesday at $42.74.
For InterOil, seen in the past as a potential takeover target, Chandler’s departure “maybe opens up the possibility for M&A,” Neil Beveridge, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., said Wednesday by phone.
About 45 percent of InterOil shares are now held by 10 institutional funds, compared with five funds a year ago, indicating it’s attracted a broader range of investors, the company said Wednesday in an e-mail response to questions.
Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management bought about 6.2 percent of InterOil, according to a filing last week. Point72 is the successor to SAC Capital Advisors, the hedge fund firm that pleaded guilty to securities fraud two years ago and stopped managing money for clients as a part of a settlement with U.S. prosecutors.
Chandler Corp. in an e-mail said it doesn’t comment on any of its investments, while Point72 in an e-mail declined to comment.
