Unocal to Vote on Takeover

After months of haggling and international intrigue, Unocal Corp. shareholders will finally meet today to approve a takeover by Chevron Corp.

The vote will mark the end of Unocal as an independent company and a rebuffing of Chinese attempts to secure much-needed energy resources by buying an American oil company.

Few doubt Chevron will win approval after rival Chinese bidder CNOOC Ltd. pulled out of the takeover battle citing intense political opposition. Once it receives the blessing of shareholders, Chevron plans to close the deal as soon as today.

“They went out in a very interesting way. And it’s finally for real,” said Fulcrum Global Partners analyst Duane Grubert.

Long a laggard within the energy sector, El Segundo-based Unocal felt the heat from Wall Street for consistently underperforming its peers.

Among the general public, the company’s image took a beating for refusing to abandon its assets in military-ruled Myanmar, despite protests from human rights activists.

But despite all that, Unocal’s strategically located assets in Asia, and the fact that there are scant opportunities for large oil companies to boost production, made it a sought-after acquisition -- one that ultimately pit Chevron against CNOOC, a state-controlled company that had a higher bid but a lower chance of winning approval.

Now the focus is expected to be on how quickly Chevron can integrate Unocal’s operations into its own. Both companies have largely kept mum about job cuts, and Chevron has gone through at least two rounds of job offers to Unocal employees.

None of the top executives at Unocal, including Chief Executive Chuck Williamson and Chief Financial Officer Terry Dallas, plan to join Chevron, a Unocal spokesman said.