Freeport McMoRan pulls up N.O. stakes for Phoenix

New Orleans CityBusiness, Dec 31, 2007 by Emilie Bahr

The New Orleans roster of publicly traded companies dwindled to 11 in 2007 when Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold left for Phoenix.

The move announced in January was completed after Freeport's March acquisition of Phoenix-based Phelps Dodge Corp.

The $26-billion deal turned the company, founded in New Orleans in 1988, into one of the largest North American mining companies and the world's largest publicly traded copper company.

The acquisition expanded Freeport's mining assets beyond its copper, gold and silver mining facility in Papua, Indonesia, to include Phelps Dodge's eight mines in the western United States, including Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico; three mines in South America; and a project under development in the Democratic Republic of Congo, spokesman Bill Collier said.

The new Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold "will benefit from a diverse portfolio of proven assets, an attractive growth profile and an exciting portfolio of exploration targets," said Freeport Chairman James Moffett. "We are highly enthusiastic about the asset base created by this leading copper producer."

CEO Richard Adkerson, who will become president in April upon the retirement of Tim Snider, now president and chief financial officer, said the acquisition was the largest ever in the metals and mining industry.

"These assets will deliver significant copper volumes to an attractive market place, providing substantial cash flows that will enable us to invest in growth projects and reduce debt rapidly," Adkerson said. "We look forward to the opportunities that this highly attractive transition provides our shareholders."

Collier initially said about 20 of the 300 employees working at the company's 1615 Poydras St. office would move to Arizona in the headquarter shift but more could be required to leave New Orleans.

"I can't say that 20 is all that's going," Collier said in June. "Twenty is all that's going right now. It could be that more will go, maybe not. All of that's still being looked at."

Collier said the number of employees who have headed to Phoenix and company plans have not since changed significantly since the acquisition.

"Approximately 20 employees were moved to Phoenix earlier this year," he said. "The headquarters for McMoRan Exploration Co. continues to be located here in New Orleans."

Adkerson was not available to discuss how New Orleans fits into future company plans, Collier said.

The bad news for New Orleans bolstered the company's financial picture. In October, Freeport announced third-quarter income for the period ended Sept. 30 of $736 million, or $1.85 per share, up 110 percent from $351 million, or $1.67 a share, a year earlier.