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Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn is said to have sold his remaining stake in oil producer Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) after owning it for almost three years.
Icahn, who recently cut his once 10 percent stake in the company, sold the latter, according to a WSJ report citing a letter he sent to the board on Sunday. The two remaining Icahn representatives on the OXY board of directors are also stepping down.
The news comes after Warren Buffett’s (NYSE:BRK.B) Berkshire Hathaway revealed on Friday that he has amassed a $5 billion stake in Occidental (OXY). Berkshire Hathaway owns 91 million shares, or about 10% of Occidental Petroleum (OXY), according to the latest filings on Friday.
Icahn originally acquired a stake in Occidental Petroleum (OXY) in the spring of 2019 after the company agreed to buy Anadarko for $38 billion, sharply criticizing the deal and OXY CEO Vicki Hollub. In late May 2019, he sued OXY and criticized the OXY preferred stock that Berkshire Hathaway received to finance the $10 billion Anadarko deal.
Icahn also threatened a proxy fight with the oil giant, although he later reached an agreement in March 2020 to add three new directors appointed by Icahn to the company’s board of directors. Occidental (OXY) also named former CEO Stephen Chasen as chairman in an attempt to appease the active investor. Last March, Icahn said he planned to cut his $3 billion stake by a third.
“While we certainly had disagreements with Vicki Hollub over M&A, we thank her for putting her honed operational skills and flexibility to good use during Occidental’s darkest hours,” Aikan wrote in a letter to the board. reports the WSJ. “We believe our relationship with Occidental has proven to be proactive at its best.”
Shares of Occidental Petroleum (OXY) are up this week, soaring 45%, including an 18% gain on Friday as crude rose to $115 a barrel amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Icahn is said to have made about $1 billion from his investment in OXY and has an unrealized net income of about $500 million on the OXY warrant he holds, according to a WSJ report citing sources. He still holds over 15 million OXY warrants.
Earlier this week, JPMorgan said oil could rise to $185 if Russia’s self-sanctions continue, and Bloomberg reported Friday that the Biden administration is considering imposing a ban on U.S. imports of Russian crude oil.