Eric Mandelblatt Tunes Up Soroban’s Portfolio Betting Big on Telecommunications

Energy Turnaround

Like many other hedge fund managers, Eric Mandelblatt is betting on a comeback in the energy sector and has established a fresh position in Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC). His fund disclosed a $407-million stake in the company in its latest 13F, having acquired 10.7 million shares during the second quarter. At the end of June, 43 of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey had this stock in their equity portfolios, slightly up compared to the previous quarter. Barry Rosenstein‘s JANA Partners has also reported a fresh investment in Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC) in its latest 13F filing, having amassed 2.72 million shares worth $103 million. Marathon Petroleum has teamed up with Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE:EEP) to take a position in the Bakken Pipeline System. The two companies have made a $2 billion investment in a holding company that owns 75% of the pipeline. The deal will help Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC) and Enbridge to transport oil from North Dakota to refineries in Texas, with the pipeline expected to go on line by the end of the year.

Big Bet On Liberty Broadband

Liberty Broadband Corp (NASDAQ:LBRDK) is another stock Mandelblatt and his team are bullish on. During the second quarter, Soroban Capital acquired 8.89 million Class C shares, a position reportedly worth $533 million. Interestingly, George Soros‘ family office, Soros Fund Management, and Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management hold the same amount of shares as Soroban, according to their latest 13F filings. At the end of the quarter, roughly 57% of the company’s Class C shares were held by 43 of the funds in our database, up from 39 recorder three months earlier. Earlier this year, Liberty Broadband Corp (NASDAQ:LBRDK) conducted a public offering to raise $4.4 billion, which it later used to finance a $5 billion investment in Charter Communications, the entity formed after the acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks by Charter. Liberty Broadband Corp (NASDAQ:LBRDK) also manages TruePosition, a provider of mobile positioning and contextual location intelligence solutions.

Bullish On This Cable Company

At the end of the second quarter, Soroban Capital’s largest new bet was on Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR), as it held approximately 4.2 million shares worth in excess of $960 million. The position is probably the result of Charter Communications’ takeover of Time Warner Cable. Soroban held 8.12 million shares of Time Warner prior to the merger. At the end of the second quarter, Charter Communications was the fourth most popular company among the funds we follow, with 134 of them having reported a long position, up from 98 registered at the end of March. Together they held approximately 79% of Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR)’s common stock. Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway also holds a piece of the pie, having indicated ownership of 9.34 million shares in its latest 13F filing. Earlier this year, Charter Communications completed the acquisition of Time Warner Cable for $55.1 billion, and Bright House Networks LLC for $10.4 billion, becoming the second-largest cable company in the United States. Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) said it plans to gradually integrate the two businesses and re-brand them under the ‘Spectrum’ umbrella.

Disclosure: none.