Bison Interests

Josh Young, the firm's founder, serves as the sole Chief Investment Officer and portfolio manager. He makes all final capital allocation and position-sizing calls. Young previously co-founded Young Capital Management and has built a public track record of concentrated energy investing and shareholder activism.

The firm invests exclusively in publicly traded securities, primarily common equity in small- and mid-cap exploration and production companies. It does not operate a private equity fund or a private credit vehicle. Its public-market approach, however, is structured with a private equity posture — taking board-level influence stakes and holding through multi-year cycles.

Bison's core thesis is that a decade of chronic underinvestment in new hydrocarbon supply, combined with public-market skepticism toward the sector, has created a persistent valuation gap between the public equity prices of E&P companies and the value of their reserves in private transactions. The firm targets companies trading at deep discounts to their proved developed producing asset values and advocates for share buybacks, special dividends, or outright sales to surface that value.

Bison concentrates on North American onshore producers. The firm has historically maintained significant exposure to the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, including heavy oil producers, and to U.S. natural-gas-focused operators in basins like the Permian. It generally avoids offshore, international, and service-company exposure.

Yes. Bison regularly communicates directly with portfolio-company boards and management teams regarding capital allocation, executive compensation, and strategic alternatives. Young has published open letters to boards and, in prior cycles, participated in proxy contests to push for asset sales, cost restructuring, or return-of-capital programs.