Eyes of Pickens May Be on High Office in Texas

Corporate raider T. Boone Pickens Jr. may be shifting his takeover efforts from the financial world to the state of Texas.

Pickens, 60, is considering running for governor in 1990 when the term of current Gov. Bill Clements comes to an end. Clements, a Republican, has said he does not intend to seek re-election.

“We’re looking at it. I told somebody recently I’ve gone from ‘I don’t think so’ to ‘maybe,’ ” Pickens said.

It may be no accident that Pickens’ United Shareholders Assn. opened a chapter in Houston, the state’s largest city, last week with a kickoff that included a message of economic hope for Texas from Pickens.

Pickens, general partner for Mesa Limited Partnership in Amarillo, Tex., told an audience of about 225 people that if Texas passed laws protecting shareholder rights the state could become the new home of corporate America.

“We could actually raid Delaware a little bit,” he said. Many companies have their state of incorporation in Delaware because of the state’s pro-business laws.

Populist Message

Under Pickens’ plan, shareholders could force a proxy fight in which companies would be forced to transfer their corporate charters to Texas, which would then reap the economic benefits now enjoyed by Delaware.

For example, 56% of Fortune 500 companies and 45% of New York Stock Exchange-listed firms are incorporated in Delaware. Incorporation fees account for about $160 million or 16% of Delaware’s yearly revenues.

Pickens’ message of what might be called corporate populism could play well in a state whose economy has been battered by declining oil prices and large bank and thrift failures.

Pickens also issued a wide-ranging attack on corporate America in which he urged management to distribute more of its earnings to shareholders.

“If CEOs would distribute 50% of cash flow instead of 20%, think what that would do for the standard of living of a lot of people in this country, including a lot of them right here in this room,” Pickens told the audience.