Occidental Nears Settlement With Carl Icahn -- Update
23 March 2020 - 3:49AM
Dow Jones News
By Cara Lombardo and Rebecca Elliott
Occidental Petroleum Corp. is nearing a truce with Carl Icahn
that would conclude one of the highest-profile corporate clashes of
the past year and usher the activist investor into the embattled
oil producer's board room as it seeks to recover from a series of
setbacks.
Andrew Langham and Nicholas Graziano, two lieutenants of the
billionaire investor, would receive seats on Occidental's board
under the terms currently being discussed, people familiar with the
matter said. Mr. Icahn and the company would also mutually agree on
a third, independent director, who is likely to be Herbalife
Nutrition Ltd. board member Margarita Paláu-Hernández, some of the
people said.
As part of the deal, Mr. Icahn would also bless Occidental's
plan to bring back Stephen Chazen, its former chief executive, as
chairman, as The Wall Street Journal reported this past week.
Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub, who has come under fire from Mr.
Icahn, is expected to retain her position.
The agreement could become official as soon as Monday, the
people said, cautioning that the situation is still fluid.
It would enable Occidental to put behind it a major distraction
at a time when the company is reeling from dual shocks that have
sent crude below $30 a barrel.
For his part, Mr. Icahn, who had been seeking to replace the
entire board, would now get a say in how Occidental tries to
maneuver its way out of its current jam. Mr. Icahn has lost an
estimated $1 billion or more on his investment between his initial
position, purchased last year, and the hundreds of millions of
dollars worth of additional shares he bought recently.
Should a settlement come together, it would also allow both
sides to avoid the expenses and mudslinging of a prolonged proxy
fight leading up to the company's annual meeting, expected to be
held this spring.
Occidental's stock price has plummeted in recent weeks as oil
prices get hammered by a Saudi-Russian price war and the economic
fallout from the coronavirus. The stock has lost nearly 90% of its
value in less than two years, closing Friday at $10.23. The Houston
company earlier this month cut its dividend by nearly 90% and
implemented other cost-cutting measures.
Mr. Icahn first took aim at Occidental in late May after it
agreed to pay $38 billion to purchase Anadarko Petroleum Corp.,
outbidding larger rival Chevron Corp. Occidental's market value has
plummeted to less than $10 billion from well over $40 billion
before it struck the deal for Anadarko.
Mr. Icahn, who owns roughly 10% of the company's shares, has
criticized Ms. Hollub for spearheading the acquisition, which
stretched the company's balance sheet and hampered its ability to
weather the current crisis.
Occidental has been scrambling to retool and besides the
dividend cut has said its current chairman would step down. It also
added the former CEO of Schlumberger Ltd. and a former BlackRock
Inc. portfolio manager to its board.
The company had been planning to name Jack Moore as its new
chairman but more recently decided to tap Mr. Chazen instead. Mr.
Icahn in the past had considered adding Mr. Chazen to his own slate
of nominees.
--Christopher M. Matthews contributed to this article.
Write to Cara Lombardo at cara.lombardo@wsj.com and Rebecca
Elliott at rebecca.elliott@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 22, 2020 12:34 ET (16:34 GMT)
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