Thread regarding Occidental Petroleum Corp. layoffs

Dear Fellow Occidental Stockholder,
For years, Occidental Petroleum repeatedly and publicly stated that they would maintain a prudent balance sheet and not take undue M&A risks. They made these commitments because history has shown that commodity businesses, especially companies such as OXY, cannot and should not incur massive leverage to engage in risky M&A. Then, why did CEO Vicki Hollub and Chairman Gene Batchelder totally break these important vows and long-held principles, and instead chose to “bet the Company” by incurring over $40 billion of debt (including the preferred) and paying a massive 65% premium to “win” a bidding war against Chevron? Why did they decide to embark on this ill-advised bet that has already destroyed over $30 billion in stockholder value; and if oil continues its decline, we believe will jeopardize the dividend, leaving stockholders to suffer even more?
The answer is simple: We believe that Hollub, Batchelder and the rest of the Board were fearful that OXY would be acquired. We believe they were focused on protecting their jobs and viewed the Anadarko transaction as a defensive maneuver that allowed OXY to be the acquiror and not the acquired. As a result, they decided to risk stockholders’ capital, instead of protecting it, which is their duty. If we are right, which we believe we are, these actions are unconscionable under any measure. If, on the other hand, we are wrong, then we call upon Hollub and Batchelder to publicly and clearly state whether or not OXY was approached as a possible acquisition target? It’s a very simple question – one that management should address on the February earning’s call. Stockholders deserve to know.
Hollub and Batchelder chose to acquire Anadarko without obtaining a stockholder vote, even though they initially proposed conditioning the transaction on stockholder approval. But, because (in our view) they did not want to risk a failed stockholder vote, and nor did they want to comply with the broad proxy rules that would have required OXY to disclose whether the Company had received any interest from possible acquirors, they found a very expensive way to restructure the transaction by issuing a very expensive preferred stock to Berkshire Hathaway. Of course, if a Board is worried their proposed transaction will fail a stockholder vote, the solution is not to find a way to avoid holding a vote, at great expense; the solution is to exercise discipline and walk-away Chevron, unlike OXY, exercised restraint and refused to engage in a bidding war when the price for Anadarko became untethered.
Because the OxyDarko Merger made no sense to us, or in our opinion, to Wall Street, we exercised our rights under Delaware law and requested that OXY provide limited information regarding the transaction. The Company has not provided us with any documents. We believe Hollub and Batchelder are afraid these documents will show that an acquiror was interested in OXY; otherwise why is OXY working so hard to prevent disclosure? The time and expense incurred by OXY to fight our simple request is extraordinary; it’s as if the Company’s future depends on Hollub and Batchelder keeping their secrets secret. After all, we have merely requested a limited subset of the information that OXY would have had to disclose in connection with a stockholder vote, which is something they originally promised stockholders. In our opinion, you don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to realize that these actions point to the fact that Hollub and Batchelder are hiding something important, such as the possibility of an acquiror.
If ever there was a time for a CEO and Board to be held accountable, it is now. Hollub and Batchelder, in less than a year, have destroyed over $30 billion in stockholder value, but have successfully protected their jobs. On those facts alone they should not be permitted to continue leading OXY. If a situation as dire as the OxyDarko Disaster can be obfuscated and those responsible can so easily escape accountability, then we question whether corporate democracy is beyond broken.
In my opinion, Hollub, Batchelder and the rest of this Board have repeatedly treated OXY stockholders as a nuisance, best avoided and never consulted. There is no doubt in my mind that the architects of the OxyDarko Disaster are convinced that they will successfully quell the restless masses allowing Hollub and Batchelder to continue their feudal-style leadership. Fortunately, however, and unlike in 2019 when OXY denied stockholders a vote on the Anadarko merger, OXY stockholders will soon have an opportunity at the 2020 annual meeting to cast their votes and demand accountability.