By Tatyana Shumsky
NEW YORK--Not everyone welcomed Freeport McMoRan Copper &
Gold Inc.'s (FCX) announced move into oil and gas Wednesday.
"I find it incredibly disappointing that you have chosen to
break the trust of investors," said Evy Hambro, joint chief
investment officer of BlackRock Inc.'s (BLK) Natural Resources
Equity Team, during a conference call with Freeport.
Freeport has agreed to buy energy companies McMoRan Exploration
Co. (MMR) and Plains Exploration & Production Co. (PXP) for
about $9 billion.
Mr. Hambro, whose fund is one of Freeport's largest
shareholders, told Freeport Chief Executive Richard Adkerson that
"investors obviously have the freedom to diversify their own
portfolios" and "don't need management teams to do it for
them."
Traditional mining investors tend to view Freeport as a proxy
for copper. Analysts at Dahlman Rose & Co. said Freeport's
decision to purchase two oil-exploration companies is "likely be
seen as a negative among mining-focused shareholders."
Mr. Hambro also expressed frustration that Freeport shareholders
won't be allowed to vote on whether to approve the proposed
transaction.
"I think it would be fair to give your shareholders the chance
to vote rather than hide," Mr. Hambro said. "That would be a fair
thing to have investors be involved in this, rather than just be
told what to expect."
Earlier in the conference call, Freeport executives said the
structure of the deal meant the transaction didn't require the
approval of Freeport's shareholders.
-Write to Tatyana Shumsky at tatyana.shumsky@dowjones.com
--Matt Day contributed to this article.
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