By David French and Svea Herbst-Bayliss
NEW YORK, June 17 (Reuters) - Activist investor TOMS Capital Investment Management has acquired a sizable stake in Devon Energy and is pressing the U.S. shale operator to sell assets or put itself up for sale, five people familiar with the matter said.
Fresh from a $58 billion merger with Coterra Energy, which it completed in May, Devon is in the midst of laying out its strategy for the combined company, with a presence in a half-dozen shale basins led by its position
in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico.
Devon said on June 9 it plans to optimize its portfolio around its core Permian position, with a strategic and financial review of its assets under way.
While the merger created one of the largest independent U.S. oil and gas exploration and production companies, it raised questions from some investors. Prominent energy-focused investor Kimmeridge has called for actions, including asset sales, to streamline the business and avoid a "conglomerate discount" in the stock price.
TOMS Capital, run by Benjamin Pass, has been engaging with management in recent weeks to press for faster asset sales, the sources said. Unlike Kimmeridge, TOMS has also said it would be open to a sale of the company, and has been trying to generate behind-the-scenes interest from other oil and gas companies to bid for Devon, two of the sources added.
New York-based TOMS' holding in Devon is among its largest current positions, the sources said, declining to elaborate. The Financial Times, which earlier reported the TOMS position in Devon, said the investment firm is among the company's top five shareholders.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential deliberations. Devon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. TOMS declined to comment.
Devon's stock is up around 17% in 2026, compared with a 22% gain by the S&P Energy index.
RAISING THE PRESSURE
Given Devon just merged with Coterra, industry sources said TOMS would face an uphill battle to put the company in play right now. With Devon management studying possible asset sales, the sources noted most suitors would likely want to pick assets that best fit their needs.
As well as issuing new financial guidance and an $8 billion share repurchase commitment last month, Devon has been meeting with institutional investors in recent days, two of the sources said.
Devon CEO Clay Gaspar is due to speak at JPMorgan Chase's energy conference in New York on Tuesday.
TOMS Capital is agitating for changes at several companies. It has amassed a substantial stake in McCormick & Co, sources told Reuters last month, at a time the U.S. spice and condiments producer is pursuing a combination with Unilever's food business that would create a $65 billion industry giant. TOMS is also pushing financial services firm Voya Financial to sell itself or divest its health insurance unit.
(Reporting by David French and Svea Herbst-Bayliss in New YorkEditing by Rod Nickel)
