Phillips 66 In Focus After Elliott Moves To Court Over Board Elections, Retail’s Yet To Notice

Phillips 66 (PSX) will likely be on retail watch on Wednesday after Elliott Investment Management filed a lawsuit seeking an order requiring four board seats to be up for election at the refiner’s annual shareholder meeting.

Elliott unveiled a more than $2.5 billion stake in the company last month and urged it to sell or spin off its midstream business and a stake in the Chevron Phillips Chemical joint venture.

The refiner said in February that the size of its board would be reduced to 12 from 14 following this year's annual meeting as two directors chose not to stand for re-election.

In a lawsuit filed at Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, Elliott said Phillips 66’s move violates its governing documents.

The activist investor had nominated seven directors to the refiner’s board earlier this month. Its nominees include John Pike, who is leading the campaign, as well as former executives at ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil.

“Despite Elliott privately requesting confirmation, Phillips has still not disclosed how many seats will be up for election or who its nominees will be, requiring Elliott to file a complaint in order to preserve its shareholder rights,” the activist investor said in a statement.

Elliott added that it would withdraw the complaint if Phillips 66 ended its “defensive maneuvers” and confirmed that at least four director seats would be up for election.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits was in the ‘neutral’ (50/100) territory, while retail chatter was ‘extremely low.’

Phillips 66 stock has gained 10.2% year-to-date (YTD).

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