Archives

Home   >   Archives   

Lawsuit launched against Oxy, lead by Carl Icahn

Rig Lynx
  • By Rig Lynx
  • May 30, 2019
  • Category : Archives
  • Views : 710

Activist investor Carl Icahn launched a lawsuit against Occidental Petroleum Corp. with the goal of potentially seeking board seats and a sale of the company.

The billionaire investor said in the suit filed Thursday in Delaware Chancery Court that he’s built a $1.6 billion stake in Occidental and is upset by the company’s decision to acquire Anadarko Petroleum Corp. for $38 billion. Singled out for special criticism was the $10 billion in financing lined up from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and the lack of a shareholder vote.

“The Anadarko deal is very much a bet-the-company deal from the point of view of the common stockholders,” Icahn said in the suit. ” Not consulting them on the deal was disenfranchising at a minimum.”

Icahn, 83, accused the company of structuring the Anadarko deal without a shareholder vote so that “it’s a close, and unfortunate, certainty” the transaction will be finalized later this year. He urged Occidental to complete the acquisition as inexpensively as possible, then immediately launch a strategic review, including a potential sale of the combined company.

“It certainly should be explored by the board, as should all other feasible strategic options,” Icahn said.

Occidental said in a statement it would respond to Icahn’s suit “in due course,” and said it planned to close the Anadarko transaction in the coming months.

“Our acquisition of Anadarko will create a global energy leader with a highly complementary asset portfolio and a unique opportunity to deliver compelling value and returns to the shareholders of both companies,” Occidental said.

Icahn said he’s considering soliciting other shareholders to call a special meeting to potentially elect new board members. Occidental shareholders voted earlier this month to lower the threshold to call a special meeting to 15% from 25%, going against the board’s recommendation.

Icahn’s stake is roughly 4% of the company’s outstanding shares, according to Bloomberg calculations. He would therefore require substantial support from other holders to call a meeting. Several institutional investors do have mandates to support a call for a special meeting even if they don’t support the proposals that would be presented.

Occidental shares have fallen about 15% year to date. The shares were down 0.3% to $51.86 as of 3:41 p.m. in New York, after initially rising as much as 2.3% when the suit was reported. Anadarko fell as much as 2.5% before paring those losses.

Representatives for Anadarko and Buffett didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Read the rest here: Bloomberg

Photo used under CC 2.0 Author: Marco Verch

Check out our other current stories!

Join the largest oil and gas community on iOS and Android!

Download the app here!

Rig Lynx was launched December 2017, our oil and gas news was viewed over 373,000 times in 2018 and our social networking application generated over 268,000 clicks in 2018. Our current foothold has rivaled the largest in the industry and we are just getting started.

For a complimentary copy of our 2018 Reach Report please send us an email at info@riglynx.com and we will be happy to show you our progress!

Comments (0)

Leave Comment


Check out our other stories

Rig Lynx
Mar 09, 2023

  Valaris Limited announced new contracts awarded subsequent to issuing the Company’s most recent fleet status report on February 21, 2023.   Three-year contract with Petrobras for drillship VALARIS DS-8. The rig will be reactivated for this contract. The total contract value is approximately $500 million, including a $30 million mobilization fee. 100-day contract with a TotalEnergies affiliate for drillship VALARIS DS-12. The contract is expected to commence in second quarter 2023. 70-day contract with Beach Energy offshore New Zealand for heavy duty modern jackup VALARIS 107. The contract is expected to commence in third quarter 2023. The total contract value is approximately $26 million. President and Chief Executive Officer Anton Dibowitz said, “We are particularly pleased to have secured the award for preservation stacked drillship VALARIS DS-8, for a contract that is expected to generate a meaningful return over the firm contract term, and we remain focused on exercising our operational leverage in a disciplined manner. This most recent award represents the sixth contract awarded to one of our high-quality stacked floaters since mid-2021, and speaks volumes about our demonstrated track record of project execution when reactivating rigs.”   Dibowitz added, “Following the reactivation of VALARIS DS-17 and DS-8, we will have ten floaters working across the golden triangle, including four drillships in Brazil, a market where we expect to see continued growth over the next several years.”   Updated Guidance   As a result of the contract awarded to VALARIS DS-8, which will require the rig to be reactivated from preservation stack, we are updating our first quarter 2023 and full-year 2023 guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call on February 21, 2023.   First Quarter 2023   Contract drilling expense is expected to increase by approximately $5 million to $385 million to $395 million. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to decrease by approximately $5 million to negative $5 million to breakeven. Adjusted EBITDAR, which adds back one-time reactivation expense, is expected to be $25 million to $30 million, unchanged from the guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call. Full-Year 2023   Revenues are anticipated to be $1.8 billion to $1.9 billion, unchanged from the guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call. Contract drilling expense is expected to increase by approximately $60 million to $1.49 billion to $1.59 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to decrease by approximately $60 million to $180 million to $220 million. Adjusted EBITDAR, which adds back one-time reactivation expense, is expected to be $280 million to $320 million, unchanged from the guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call. Capital expenditures are expected to increase by $60 million to $320 million to $360 million. Source: Valaris Join our mailing list here We are #1 on Google and Bing for the "Largest Mobile Energy Network" Come join our community! Download the Rig Lynx app here  

Rig Lynx
Mar 09, 2023

  Seadrill Limited announced that the West Neptune has executed approximately six months of term extensions with LLOG Exploration Offshore, L.L.C in the US Gulf of Mexico.   The extensions will commence in direct continuation of the existing term, and will keep the rig busy until Q3 2024, furthering Seadrill and LLOG’s long-term association. Total contract value for the extension is approximately $79 million. Source: Seadrill   Join our mailing list here We are #1 on Google and Bing for the "Largest Mobile Energy Network" Come join our community! Download the Rig Lynx app here  

Rig Lynx
Mar 09, 2023

  Semisub rig owner Dolphin Drilling has inked a new contract with Peak Petroleum in Nigeria for its 1974-built Blackford Dolphin.   The firm contract, which follows the letter of award in January, gives the Euronext Growth-listed owner of three rigs the potential to extend the unit’s backlog by a minimum of 120 days and up to 485 days. The deal adds to and will be a direct continuation of the previously announced 12-month contract with General Hydrocarbon Limited (GHL).   Øystein Stray Spetalen-backed company said the effective dayrate associated with the minimum firm period of the contract is $325,000, including the mobilisation fee.   “The final award of the contract for Blackford Dolphin shows the opportunities in Nigeria at a strong dayrate, in addition to building on the backlog for the rig. It also underlines the attractiveness of our assets, and we look forward to returning to revenue-generating operations in 2023,” noted Bjørnar Iversen, CEO of Dolphin Drilling.   Source: Dolphin   Join our mailing list here We are #1 on Google and Bing for the "Largest Mobile Energy Network" Come join our community! Download the Rig Lynx app here