Activist investor Carl Icahn, who has been waging a bitter battle against Occidental Petroleum Corp’s board over its $38 billion acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum, cut his holdings in the oil and gas producer by nearly a third, according to an open letter to shareholders released on Friday. Icahn has opposed the deal as “hugely overpriced” and a misplaced bet-the-company gamble on oil prices rising, and urged Occidental’s board to instead put the company on the market. Occidental bought rival Anadarko in August for $38 billion despite investor opposition to the deal, which did not go to an Occidental shareholder vote for approval.
