Occidental Petroleum active after investor dispute ends; Bombardier eyed as ratings cut

By James McCandless

San Antonio, March 25 – The distressed debt market saw more attention paid to energy and other names tied to commodities.

Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s notes varied in direction after agreeing to give a large investor board seats and announcing spending cuts.

The 2.9% senior notes due 2029 lost 1 point to close at 53¾ bid. The 2.7% senior notes due 2027 picked up 2½ points to close at 65½ bid.

Early Wednesday, news broke that the Houston-based independent oil and gas producer would add three members to its board of directors at the behest of activist investor Carl Icahn.

Andrew Langham, Nicholas Graziano and Margarita Palau-Hernandez have been chosen to fill the positions.

Icahn, who owns about 10% of the company, had been embroiled in a dispute with the company over enhancing performance.

Concurrently, Occidental announced a reduction in spending and some employee salaries.

In aerospace, Bombardier Inc.’s issues also saw mixed activity after the company received a ratings downgrade.

The 8¾% senior notes due 2021 declined by 1½ points to close at 79½ bid. The 7 7/8% senior notes due 2027 tacked on 2½ points to close at 67½ bid.

At the beginning of March, both tranches were trading around par.

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