Leon Cooperman snaps up stakes in Singapore's SEA Ltd and Texan outsourcer KBR

By Louis Goss

Leon Cooperman's hedge fund pulled out of U.S. Treasuries and instead bought multi-million-dollar stakes in Singaporean technology conglomerate SEA Ltd and American outsourcing giant KBR in the first quarter of 2024, new SEC 13f filings show.

Cooperman, who is known for his value-oriented approach to investing, is considered a legend on Wall Street, having successfully generated 12.5% average annual returns through his money manager Omega Advisors before it was converted into a family office in 2018.

In the first quarter, the veteran investor's fund acquired a $35 million stake in KBR (KBR) - the Houston headquartered contractor was split off from Halliburton in 2007 - and also purchased a $12.9 million stake in Singaporean gaming and e-commerce company SEA Ltd (SE).

The fund also bought a small $31,000 stake in Oklahoma hydrocarbons company Panhandle Oil and Gas (PHX), while selling off its remaining stake in Pioneer Natural Resources, just ahead of the completion of ExxonMobil's (XOM)$59.5 billion acquisition of the company, which was finalized earlier this month.

Cooperman's fund, which he first established in 1991 after a 25-year career at Goldman Sachs, in turn, upped its stakes in various firms including alarm system maker ADT Inc (ADT), hotel owner Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS), and British football team Manchester United (UK:0Z1Q).

The 81-year-old investor, who has previously spoken about interest in "cheap" and "mispriced" stocks, is well-known for his interest in energy stocks which account for around one-fifth of his hedge fund's portfolio.

More recently, Cooperman has also made big bets on media and technology companies, including the likes of Alphabet (GOOGL) and Netflix (NFLX). In November 2023, the investor made his first venture into English soccer via the acquisition of a $18.4 million stake in Manchester United.

SEA Ltd - which was established as a gaming company in 2009 before expanding into e-commerce via the launch of Shopee and digital payments through its fintech platform SeaMoney - has seen its share price plunge by more than 80% since peaking in 2021.

In 2020, the tech conglomerate, which was started by 47-year-old Chinese-Singaporean businessman Forrest Li over a decade ago, acquired Singaporean football club Lion City Sailors FC.

KBR, formerly known as Kellogg Brown & Root, traces its origins back to a company that made power plants in the U.S. in the early 20th century. The company was subsequently acquired by Halliburton in 1962 before it was split off again more than four decades later.

Today, KBR makes billions in revenue through contracts for big tech and engineering projects for various American government agencies - including NASA and the U.S. military - alongside those supplied by governments worldwide and big multinationals.

Cooperman's fund also sold off its entire holdings in the Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF SCHO - that covers 1 to 3 year U.S. bonds - and lowered its positions in data center builder Vertiv Holdings (VRT) and mortgage specialist Ellington Financial (EFC).

-Louis Goss

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05-16-24 0650ET

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