Williams Unveils More Board Changes -- WSJ

By Tess Stynes 

Williams Cos. named two new members to its board and plans to name two more before its annual meeting in November, a move praised by activist investor Corvex Management LP, which plans to withdraw plans for a proxy contest.

The Tulsa, Okla., pipeline giant said four other directors who served before this year will stand for re-election.

Keith Meister, managing partner of Corvex, in prepared statements on Monday commended recently appointed board members Steve Bergstrom, William Spence and Scott Sheffield for their role in Williams's move to add more independent members.

Williams most recent board appointments are Stephen Chazen, former chief executive and current board member of Occidental Petroleum Corp., and Peter Ragauss, former finance chief of Baker Hughes Inc. and current member of Apache Corp.'s board.

William Chairman Kathleen B. Cooper said Williams was making progress on its strategy to continue as a stand-alone company after a planned merger deal with Energy Transfer Equity LP fell through in June and after Enterprise Products Partners LP recently said it was no longer pursuing a potential combination with Williams.

In the wake of Williams's deal with Energy Transfer collapsing, six board members, including Mr. Meister, resigned after failing to unseat Alan Armstrong, chief executive of Williams. Mr. Meister began his effort to remove Williams's entire board roughly two months later.

Write to Tess Stynes at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 27, 2016 02:48 ET (06:48 GMT)

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