Andy Hall, the Kiefer collector and private museum owners, is back in the news for his day job. Hall runs Phibro, the oil trading firm that was once part of Citibank and is now backed by Occidental Petroleum, and also has a hedge fund. Phibro became he center of a national debate on banks and the compensation paid to their employees after the financial crisis when Hall was owed a £100m bonus.
Now Occidental is scaling back its involvement with Phibro, according to the Wall Street Journal:
Analysts have been critical of Oxy’s acquisition of Phibro, saying it was a bad fit and that the company did not provide enough information about its operations and how they impacted financial performance.
“It didn’t work for them,” said Fadel Gheit, a corporate equity energy analyst for Oppenheimer & Co. “It was bad, it didn’t work and they’re getting out.” Given the company’s limited experience speculating in markets, “It’s like you’ve never gambled but you’re buying a casino,” Mr. Gheit said.
