Orange Capital reaches 1-yr stand-still deal with Bellatrix, gets board seat

CALGARY – Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. (TSX:BXE) has reached a stand-still agreement with Orange Capital, a New York-based private equity firm that will get a seat on the Canadian oil and gas developer’s board of directors.

Orange, which now owns about 14.3 per cent of Bellatrix shares, had indicated earlier this year that it intended to seek ways to “maximize shareholder value.” At the time, it owned only about 5.3 per cent of Bellatrix equity.

Calgary-based Bellatrix says it has now reached a stand-still agreement with Orange that runs until Nov. 30, 2015.

Orange Capital managing partner Daniel Lewis was one of two appointments to the Bellatrix board announced Monday.

“We are pleased with our dialogue with the Bellatrix board and management team,” Lewis said in a joint statement with Bellatrix. “I look forward to working collaboratively as part of the Bellatrix Board and making meaningful contributions.”

The other new director was Steven Pully, a former partner of Carlson Capital and other investment banking positions at Bank of America and Bear Sterns.

There’s been a dramatic decline in the global price of oil since the summer, driving down the share price of energy companies and sparking talk of deal-making as producers prepare for what could be a prolonged decline in crude prices.

Bellatrix shares closed Friday at $3.57, down from $8.42 at the end of August when Orange disclosed its intentions to take a more active role in the company.