Hess shareholder HBK to abstain from voting on $53 billion Chevron acquisition over arbitration risks

(Bloomberg) – HBK Capital Management, one of the biggest shareholders in Hess Corp., is planning to abstain from voting on the oil company’s $53 billion acquisition by Chevron Corp.

The hedge fund agrees with Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. that shareholders should not vote in favor of the deal, one of the firm’s partners, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, said in an interview.

“Hess shareholders are taking all the arbitration risk and should be compensated for the possibility that arbitration goes against them or takes longer than expected,” Panagiotopoulos said.

HBK has economic interests in more than 8 million shares of Hess, Panagiotopoulos said. That likely makes the fund Hess’s fourth-biggest holder, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. HBK Capital Management manages more than $7 billion in assets.

Hess didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Chevron said, “we look forward to Hess obtaining a successful shareholder vote and completing the transaction.”

Chevron shares fell 0.9%. Hess declined 0.5%.