Occidental Petroleum Corp. is to buy Citigroup Inc.'s Phibro LLC commodities unit, allowing the banking giant to rid itself of a compensation headache.
The oil-and-gas trading unit has generated controversy over a potential $100 million payout to its star trader, Andrew Hall.
Occidental and Citigroup said the sale price is for about "net asset value," which was not specified. However, Occidental did say that its investment will be about $250 million.
In addition, significant portions of current and future bonuses will be deferred; Citi said the deferred compensation is to be reinvested in the company.
