TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – A day after US diversified miner Freeport-McMoRan announced a board shakeup through which it had reduced the number of directors to 9 from 16, the Phoenix, Arizona-based company revealed that it had appointed two associates of billionaire investor Carl Icahn to its board, after reaching an agreement with the activist shareholder.
Freeport disclosed on Wednesday that Andrew Langham and Courtney Mather had been appointed to the board, which now comprised 11 directors – nine independent directors and two executive directors.
Langham had been general counsel of Icahn Enterprises since January and was previously assistant general counsel since 2005. Mather had served as a MD of Icahn Capital since April 2014.
Icahn, together with his affiliates, owned about 100-million Freeport shares, representing about 8.8% of the company’s outstanding shares.
Freeport on Tuesday revealed that it was reviewing strategic options for its oil and gas business, including a spin-off or a joint venture.
The separation of the oil and gas business would leave Freeport with its mainly copper and gold mining assets – about 60% of Freeport's 2014 revenue came from copper, while 20% was derived from its oil and gas business segment.
The energy business included onshore and offshore assets in the deep-water portion of the Gulf of Mexico, in California, Louisiana and Wyoming.
Freeport was considering an initial public offering (IPO) for the oil and gas business, which filed for an IPO in June.