Vicki Hollub, Big Oil’s Big Dealmaker

(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- In April, Anadarko rebuffed a bid from Occidental in favor of a lower one from Chevron Corp., partly because Anadarko wasn't convinced Hollub could win shareholder approval for the purchase. Hollub thought that if she could decrease the proportion of the offer that was in stock—her company initially proposed 60% stock, 40% cash—she wouldn't need shareholders to vote yes.

So she flew to Omaha, pitched the deal to Warren Buffett, and came away with a $10 billion investment from Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Buffett got high guaranteed dividends on preferred shares.) Then she went to France and presold Anadarko's African assets, which included a liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique, to Total SA for an additional $8.8 billion. With what was now a 78% cash bid, Anadarko reversed course and accepted Hollub's offer. The move consolidated Occidental's position as the top producer in the Permian Basin, the world's biggest shale field. Edited excerpts from her conversation with Bloomberg's Kevin Crowley:

When did you find out that Anadarko Petroleum had a deal with Chevron?

I was driving and heard it on the radio. I was shocked because we were still talking with Anadarko.

How did the trip to Omaha come about?

Brian Moynihan, [the CEO] of Bank of America [one of Occidental's M&A advisers on the Anadarko deal], told Warren Buffett I would be calling. I called him on a Saturday morning to ask if I could come to Omaha and talk with him about a potential arrangement. He said, “Sure, when can you be here?” I said, “Sunday morning, 10 o'clock.”

He was at the door, waiting. We went up to his offices. I wanted him to know more about me and the company. But he already knew everything, knew all about the deal, so I quickly realized I didn't need to tell him anything. The whole meeting was probably an hour and a half.

And what about the Africa sale?

Total was not the first company we talked to. It was never spur-of-the-moment. For more than six months prior to that, we'd talked to another company about buying the Africa assets.

You've faced a lot of criticism over the deal to buy Anadarko. [In November activist investor Carl Icahn announced a plan to launch a proxy fight because he's unhappy with leadership.] Occidental is saddled with debt, and the stock has plunged. How do you deal with that?

I just get in my kayak. I go kayaking on the bay in Galveston. What bothers me more than anything is our shareholders are going through some stress. I care about that. I want to lower their stress, and I want to do it as quickly as possible.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bret Begun at bbegun@bloomberg.net, Jeremy Keehn

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