The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that billionaire Seymour Schulich has increased his holding in Pengrowth Energy. The Globe's Jeff Lewis writes that Mr. Schulich announced on Thursday that he bought another two million shares of the Calgary-based company on the open market, bringing his overall stake in the oil sands player to 18.6 per cent from just under 17 per cent. Mr. Schulich has been steadily increasing his position in the oil sands producer since March, when he announced he had acquired a 14.7-per-cent share of the company. Pengrowth closed up nine cents Thursday to close at $2.14 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. That is more than double the price at the beginning of the year, but well under previous highs of $25 that the stock price hit in 2006. Like others, the company has sought to pare debt levels as low crude prices erode profit. In the second quarter, its loss widened by nearly a third to $173.4-million from $134.4-million in the year-ago period. So far this year, however, the company says it has trimmed outstanding debt by roughly $225-million. Mr. Schulich has billed his growing position in the company partly as a defensive move to fend off potential hostile takeover bids.