Occidental Asks to Meet Proponents of Rights Panel

Occidental Petroleum Corp., apparently softening its opposition to a proposed shareholders rights committee, has asked to meet with the proposal’s sponsors while federal officials mull the company’s request to keep the proposal off the proxy statement for its May annual meeting.

According to a source familiar with the controversy, Occidental’s general counsel, Gerald M. Stern, asked to meet next Wednesday with lawyers for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, an institutional shareholder and sponsor of a proposal to create a watchdog committee to advise the board of directors. Stern could not be reached for comment Thursday.

CalPERS, which holds 1.74 million Occidental shares, or roughly 0.6% of the total outstanding, has said that the proposal reflects investor unhappiness with recent company actions.

Last month, in letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Occidental voiced strong objections to the creation of such a committee and asked for permission to omit the proposal from the proxy statement. The company argued that the proposal was vague, unfair, misleading and would improperly promote CalPERS’ interests.