James Moffett is out at Freeport McMoRan (FCX), much like Aubrey McClendon was shown the door at Chesapeake Energy (CHK), both Icahn targets. The still hasn’t restored confidence in the cooper and oil company, just like McClendon’s exit from CHK left the company in no man’s land. The strategy shift from “buy, buy, buy” oil and gas rich land to monetize those assets has proven stressful.
For FCX, Moffett was a McMoRan Oil & Gas co-founder in ‘69 and merged it with Freeport Minerals in ‘81. In 2012 he bought up Plains Exploration & Production and McMoRan Exploration for $20 billion.
Both of these latest buys, Plains and McMoRan Exploration reeked of corporate governance shenanigans. Recall that Moffett was a part owner of McMoRan Exploration when they bought it a couple years ago. And the Plains’ CEO, Jim Flores, sat on the McMoRan Exploration board. All deals that would be right up Aubrey’s alley.
Icahn went activist on FCX in Oct. and since then shares are down 55%.
Icahn went activist on CHK in 2012 and since then the stock is down 75%.
The latest value-unlocking catalyst that Icahn has worked up is re-splitting the oil business off from the mining operations. A great idea, especially if he can do it while oil is going for less than $30 a barrel.
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Check out the sands…slca is h&s?
Is this a fucking buy or what??
Trading below book value but what the hell does that mean if copper stays low and slow?
Shit, maybe call options are better then going all in