Icahn launches proxy fight after stalled talks with Occidental CEO

[HOUSTON] Activist investor Carl Icahn on Thursday formally launched a proxy fight against Occidental Petroleum to win control of four board seats, according to a regulatory filing, after talks with the oil company's chief executive failed to reach an agreement.

Mr Icahn, who owns 4.4 per cent of Occidental shares, last month said he planned to launch a proxy fight to oust and replace four Occidental directors. Mr Icahn has blasted the Houston-based oil and gas producer for failing to give owners a say on its proposed US$38 billion acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum, which he has called "misguided and hugely overpriced."

"Occidental refused to craft a compromise and so we'll happily take our case to stockholders which the company should have done with this bet-the-company transaction," Mr Icahn told Reuters on Thursday.

"We prefer to have peace and have a great record in reaching settlements," Mr Icahn added.

Occidental, whose board of directors has 10 members, did not respond to requests for comment. In its own recent securities filings, the company called the Icahn requests "not in the best interests of Occidental or its shareholders" and urged they not sign the solicitation.

In the proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Icahn identified his four candidates for the board: John Hofmeister, the former president of Shell Oil Company; Alan LeFevre, the former finance chief of consumer goods firm Jarden Corp; and Nicholas Graziano and Andrew Langham, two executives with Mr Icahn's own investment company.

Mr Icahn spoke with Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub on July 10 in an 11th-hour effort to reach a compromise and avert a proxy fight. His associates also spoke with Occidental executives twice earlier this month, according to the filing.

If Mr Icahn's proxy solicitation is successful in forcing a special meeting of shareholders, the record date for a vote on the Icahn candidates could be scheduled as soon as September or October.

Mr Icahn expects to schedule meetings with Occidental shareholders in the next four weeks to press the case for board seats. The proxy fight is unlikely to stop the Anadarko deal, but would influence the pace and direction of billions of dollars of asset sales that will result after the acquisition closes.

Occidental has proposed selling Anadarko's Africa assets, including a proposed Mozambique liquefied natural gas project estimated to cost US$20 billion. Anadarko also owns significant offshore wells and production platforms in the US Gulf of Mexico.

Freeport-McMoRan, which in 2016 sold some of those same offshore assets to Anadarko, did so while under pressure from Icahn's investment fund, which held seats on the mining firm's board.

Anadarko shareholders are expected vote in favor of the Occidental deal Aug. 8.

REUTERS