Baker Hughes CEO Ousted; Stock Soars

Baker Hughes Inc., the world’s third-biggest oil-field services company, said it ousted Chairman and Chief Executive Max Lukens because of the board’s dissatisfaction with the recent performance of the company’s stock. The news prompted a sharp rise in the stock on Monday, with shares jumping $3.88, or 18.6%, to close at $24.69 in heavy trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Baker Hughes’ statement on Lukens’ departure said he had resigned, but Interim Chairman Joe Foster said in a conference call with analysts that the move was as an active one by the board after it met twice last week. Lukens had been with Houston-based Baker Hughes for nearly 20 years, including four as president and three as chairman and CEO. Foster, a member of the Baker Hughes board since 1990, will assume Lukens’ positions until a new CEO is chosen. He is the founder and outgoing CEO of natural gas producer Newfield Exploration Co. Baker Hughes’ stock has been under pressure since last summer. Angry investors filed suit in December, after the company revealed accounting irregularities at one of its units, which it said would lead to a pretax charge of $40 million to $50 million.