Kimmeridge calls for overhaul at Coterra, says 2021 merger a failure

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(Reuters) -Activist investor Kimmeridge on Tuesday called for an overhaul of leadership and strategy at Coterra Energy, saying the 2021 merger of Cabot Oil & Gas and Cimarex Energy to form the company has failed to deliver value and left it trading at a discount to its peer.

In an open letter, the private investment firm urged the board to appoint an independent, non-executive chair and to refocus operations on its oil-rich Delaware Basin assets, saying the company’s current mix of oil and gas properties has created inefficiency and eroded returns.

“Coterra’s history has been tainted by a boardroom unwilling to acknowledge its own missteps,” said Mark Viviano, Managing Partner at Kimmeridge in the letter.

The investment firm wants Coterra to divest its Marcellus and Anadarko Basin assets to become a pure-play Permian producer, arguing that a streamlined business would simplify operations and unlock a valuation re-rating.

Kimmeridge said it holds a “significant stake” in the oil and gas company without disclosing the exact detail. Coterra did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shares of Coterra fell 1.1% in premarket trading. They have dropped 4.5% this year compared with 2.8% rise in the broader S&P 500 energy index.

The $17 billion merger between Cabot Oil & Gas and Cimarex Energy in 2021 to form Coterra was seen as a “surprise” as it brought together Cabot’s gas-rich Marcellus shale positions in the U.S. northeast and Cimarex’s oil-heavy acres in West Texas.

Coterra missed Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on Monday, as lower oil prices offset a jump in production.

(Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)