Elliott Management is calling for a board shake-up at Hess Corporation.
On Tuesday, the activist hedge fund, run by Paul Singer, pushed investors at Hess to vote for a slate of five independent directors, as part of broader effort to bolster the share price.
Elliott outlined five candidates for the board, including Rodney F. Chase, the former deputy chief executive of BP; Harvey Golub, the former chief executive of American Express; Karl F. Kurz, the former chief operating officer of Anadarko Petroleum; David McManus, a former executive at Pioneer Natural Resources; and Marshall D. Smith, the chief financial officer of Ultra Petroleum. The hedge fund, which own
Elliott’s letter to shareholders comes just a day after Hess said that it planned to sell a network of terminals. It has hired Goldman Sachs to lead the process.
“By closing the Port Reading refinery and selling our terminal network, Hess will complete its transformation from an integrated oil and gas company to one thatis predominantly an exploration and production company and be able to redeploy substantial additional capital to fund its future growth opportunities,†John Hess, the company’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
Elliott, which owns 4 percent of Hess, has unveiled a wide-ranging strategy for oil company, which includes selling off assets and spinning off the Bakken assets. Hess said it first heard from Elliott last week, when the hedge fund outlined plans to buy shares and potentially nominate directors.
“If managed appropriately, we believe the equity value of Hess could be up to $126 per share - a massive premium to where the shares currently trade in the market,†Elliott wrote in the letter. “But reclaiming this shareholder value requires substantial strategic change.â€
