Hess facing three lawsuits over Chevron deal disclosures
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The news: In an SEC filing on Tuesday, Hess Corporation disclosed that it is facing three lawsuits tied to disclosures around its proposed sale to Chevron.
The numbers: In October last year, energy giant Chevron agreed to buy smaller rival Hess Corporation for around USD171 per share, or USD53 billion ($83.7 billion), to acquire Hess in an all-stock deal.
The context: The SEC filing explains that the lawsuits challenge the sufficiency of the disclosures around the proposed transaction, and seek to delay or block the proposed sale.
The filing states that in addition to the three lawsuits, several purported stockholders of Hess have sent demand letters alleging similar deficiencies regarding the disclosures made in the Proxy Statement.
Hess added that all defendants named in the claims view that the matters are “without merit,” however, given the inherent uncertainty of litigation and to “moot plaintiffs’ disclosure claims and to avoid nuisance, potential expense and delay,” Hess has voluntarily supplemented the Proxy Statement with a number of disclosures.
The deal was set to give Chevron a 30% stake in the Exxon and CNOOC-backed Stabroek oil block in Guyana, which would triple output to more than 1.2 million bpd by 2027, however, the deal has faced delays due to a conflict with Exxon Mobil and pending regulatory approval from the FTC.
Hess shareholders are set to vote on the deal on 28 May.
The sources: Hess SEC filing, Reuters
