NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 28, 2013--
Hess Corporation (NYSE: HES) announced today that Elliott Associates,
L.P. and its associated entity Elliott International Limited notified
Hess this past Friday in writing that they intend to file a
Hart-Scott-Rodino Notification and Report Form seeking regulatory
clearance to acquire additional Hess shares beyond those they may
already own, if any. The correspondence suggests that Elliott may seek
to acquire shares valued at more than $800 million. A law firm
representing Elliott Associates, L.P. also informed the company that
Elliott is considering nominating candidates for election to Hess’s
Board of Directors at Hess’s upcoming 2013 annual meeting.
John Hess, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Prior to the
letters we received this past Friday, Elliott had not contacted us about
their intentions, nor have we had any discussions with them. As we do
with all shareholders who engage with us, if Elliott wishes to do so, we
will meet to hear their ideas.”
Hess continued, “We have transformed Hess into a predominantly
exploration and production company, which is part of a multi-year
strategy to grow shareholder value. This strategy is focused on
developing lower risk, higher return assets such as those related to our
leadership position in the Bakken oil shale of North Dakota.
“We are pleased that the market has been recognizing the success of our
strategic transformation as reflected by the fact that Hess shares have
significantly outperformed our peers over the past six months. Since
July 24, 2012, the last day of trading before we announced our updated
strategy, Hess shares have increased approximately 34% versus 13% for
our peer index. We are confident that continued execution of our
strategy is delivering and will deliver superior and sustainable value
to all Hess shareholders.
“Today we announced that we are completing our exit from refining with
the closure of our Port Reading, New Jersey refinery and we are pursuing
the sale of our U.S. oil storage terminal network. The terminals sale,
when complete, should release approximately $1 billion of working
capital in addition to the proceeds from the transaction. In the past
several months, we have announced divestitures of $2.4 billion in
non-strategic assets and committed to sell our oil and gas assets in
Russia, as well as our Eagle Ford assets in Texas. Proceeds from our
divestiture program will help fund our future growth opportunities.”
Hess Corporation is a leading global independent energy company
primarily engaged in the exploration and production of crude oil and
natural gas, and the marketing of refined petroleum products, natural
gas and electricity. More information on Hess Corporation is available
at http://www.hess.com.
Cautionary Statements
This news release contains projections and other forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of
1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These
projections and statements reflect the company’s current views with
respect to future events and financial performance. No assurances can be
given, however, that these events will occur or that these projections
will be achieved, and actual results could differ materially from those
projected as a result of certain risk factors. A discussion of these
risk factors is included in the company’s periodic reports filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Source: Hess Corporation
Hess Corporation
Investor:
Jay
Wilson, 212-536-8940
or
Media:
Jon
Pepper, 212-536-8550
or
Sard
Verbinnen & Co
Michael Henson/Patrick Scanlan
212-687-8080
