Occidental plans to name former CEO Chazen as chairman: WSJ

(Reuters) – Oil and gas producer Occidental Petroleum Corp is planning to name former Chief Executive Officer Stephen Chazen as its new chairman, WSJ reported https://on.wsj.com/33xeJJ7 on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Chazen’s appointment could be announced in the coming days, assuming discussions don’t fall apart, the report said.

The move, according to the report, is being considered to appease billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who has been waging a bitter battle with Occidental’s board over its $38 billion acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum.

Ichan had last year asked Chasen to be one of his board director nominees.

Last week, Icahn raised his stake in the company to nearly 10% from 2.53% at the end of 2019 and once again pushed for an overhaul of the oil and gas producer’s board.

In response, Occidental had said it will issue a shareholder rights offering, known as a “poison pill” to stop investors from amassing more than a 15% stake.

(Reporting by Shradha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)