Icahn Gets Board Seats From Cheniere

By Ezequiel Minaya 

Cheniere Energy Inc. said Monday that Jonathan Christodoro and Samuel Merksamer, managing directors for a subsidiary of Icahn Enterprises L.P., had been appointed to the board of directors, effective immediately.

The appointments come just weeks after activist investor Carl Icahn first put pressure on the company, saying he would seek representation on the board for his group, which had amassed 19.4 million shares of Cheniere for a little over $1 billion.

With the latest additions, Cheniere's board now has 11 directors.

"As we have done with a number of companies in the past, we hope to contribute meaningfully as Board members towards enhancing shareholder value at Cheniere," Mr. Icahn said in a news release.

Mr. Icahn is known for acquiring big stakes in companies and agitating for changes, and has shaken up the boards of directors at Chesapeake Energy Corp., Transocean Inc. and CVR Energy Inc., among others.

Besides seeking a voice on the board, the Icahn-led group had also sought to talk to the company's management about operations, capital expenditures, financing and executive compensation, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Cheniere has drawn fire from shareholders and proxy advisory firms over its compensation practices. The company granted its chief executive, Charif Souki, a pay package valued at $142 million for 2013, making him one of the most highly paid executives in the country. Last year, Cheniere valued his pay at $7.7 million, and as of this year he no longer receives a salary.

Cheniere, which is based in Houston, is preparing to export the first major amounts of U.S. natural gas by sea later this year from a plant in the final phases of construction on Louisiana's Gulf Coast.

Write to Ezequiel Minaya at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 24, 2015 09:44 ET (13:44 GMT)

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