Financier Carl Icahn and some Icahn entities have purchased nearly 5% of Kerr-McGee Corp. stock and said they intend to nominate two candidates to the board of directors at the company’s annual meeting, which is scheduled for May 10.

Kerr-McGee announced Icahn’s intentions in an amended preliminary proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In a statement, the company said, “Nominating directors is a stockholder’s prerogative. Kerr-McGee has an independent, strong and highly experienced board that is focused on building value for all stockholders, and we are confident in our strategy to do just that.”

Icahn and a partnership indicated last month that they intended to purchase up to $1 billion of Kerr-McGee’s shares (see Daily GPI, Feb. 23). According to the regulatory filing, the financier’s partnerships so far have purchased about 5% of the stock for $509 million. Icahn and Jana Partners LLC, which is considered part of an investment group in the SEC filing, together hold a 7.65% stake in Kerr-McGee. Jana is a $2 billion hedge fund that is based in San Francisco.

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