Donald Morgan’s Brigade Capital Management revealed a 14.7% ownership stake in Bon-Ton Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:BONT) consisting of 2.78 million shares, in a recent 13G filing with the SEC. The stake just the latest increase to the fund’s position in the company, having been increased by 1.78 million shares from the 1.00 million shares that were disclosed in another 13G filing on May 22 and by nearly 2.13 million shares since the fund’s most recently filed 13F for the reporting period of March 31.
Brigade Capital Management is New York-based hedge fund specializing in credit investment strategies, co-founded by Donald Ellis Morgan in 2006. The asset management firm primarily employs a multi-strategy, multi-asset class investment approach with a focus on companies with leveraged balance sheets. Brigade Capital’s investment strategies include: long/short credit, opportunistic credit, distressed debt, traditional high yield, long/short equity, and structured credit, to name just a few. Don Morgan had acted as a Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Fixed Income at MacKay Shields LLC, managing its High Yield Division for six years prior to launching Brigade. He managed to grow the firm’s high yield assets from $7 billion to $16 billion and raise a $750 million long/short fund. Moreover, Don Morgan was a High Yield Analyst at Fidelity Management and Research Company even before joining MacKay Shields; thus, his expertise in high yield and distressed debt investing is unquestionable. Brigade Capital Management’s public equity portfolio is worth $1.52 billion as of March 31, 2015.
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Bon-Ton Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:BONT) is one of the largest regional department store operators in the United States, providing a large portfolio of brand-name fashion apparel and accessories. Bon-Ton’s portfolio of merchandise offerings also comprises cosmetics, home furnishings, and other goods. The company operates 270 stores, including nine furniture galleries and four clearance centers, under the Bon-Ton, Bergner’s, Boston Store, Carson’s, Elder-Beerman, Herberger’s, and Younkers nameplates. The shares of Bon-Ton have decreased by 21% since the beginning of the current year, however the stock has been riding a strong uptrend more recently, achieving a gain of over 32% so far in July.
