- Carl Icahn blasted Occidental Petroleum's financing deal with Warren Buffett once again after the oil refiner paid its dividend to Berkshire Hathaway in stock this month.
- "I can't argue with you that it was one of the most ridiculous deals that I've ever seen," the billionaire investor said in a recent Bloomberg Television interview.
- Occidental gave $10 billion in preferred shares paying an 8% dividend and about $1.2 billion worth of stock warrants to Berkshire last year, in exchange for help in financing its takeover of Anadarko Petroleum.
- "The Buffett deal was like taking candy from a baby," Icahn told his shareholders at the time.
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Carl Icahn slammed Occidental Petroleum's infamous deal with Warren Buffett yet again after the oil refiner paid its dividend to Berkshire Hathaway using shares this month.
"The company is so cash-strapped that it's having to pay Warren Buffett in stock effectively for the financing deal that you opposed," host Erik Schatzker told Icahn in a recent Bloomberg Television interview. "That must make you boiling mad."
The billionaire investor and Occidental shareholder chuckled and replied, "I can't argue with you that it was one of the most ridiculous deals that I've ever seen."
Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub secured $10 billion from Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway last year to help finance a $37 billion takeover of Anadarko Petroleum. In exchange, she handed over $10 billion in preferred stock paying an 8% dividend, and roughly $1.2 billion worth of warrants to buy Occidental shares at a discount in the future.
"Buffett figuratively took her to the cleaners," Icahn said in a letter to shareholders at the time. "The Buffett deal was like taking candy from a baby and amazingly she even thanked him publicly for it."
Under pressure from Icahn, Occidental agreed in March to appoint three new independent directors to its board, create an oversight committee, and strengthen its governance.
Given those developments, Icahn followed up his criticism of the Buffett deal with a vote of confidence in Occidental. "Those days are over, we are now on the board, we're working together," he told Schatzker.
However, he acknowledged Occidental and other oil refiners have "so many hurdles coming up in the short term." The coronavirus pandemic continues to hammer demand for oil, and producers have been slow to cut output in response, fueling a dramatic decline in crude prices in recent weeks.
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