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Sept 27 (Reuters) - Two major shareholders of Marathon Petroleum Corp have called for the ouster of the fuel maker's Chief Executive Officer Gary Heminger, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
The shareholders, Paul Foster and Jeff Stevens, in a letter sent to the company on Thursday evening also backed a proposal by hedge fund Elliott Management Corp to split Marathon into three units, the Journal reported https://on.wsj.com/2m08ah3 citing a copy of the letter.
The shareholders, who are former board members of refiner Andeavor, which Marathon acquired last year, own about 1.7% of Marathon, the Journal said.
Marathon and Elliott were not immediately available for a Reuters request for comment after regular U.S. business hours, while Foster and Stevens could not be reached.
Elliott on Wednesday urged the energy company to split into three companies for retail, refining and midstream assets, saying it would boost shareholder value by as much as $40 billion.
Marathon had responded to the hedge fund's proposal stating it was focused on increasing shareholder value and would "thoroughly evaluate" Elliott's proposal.
Heminger's membership of Marathon's board of directors is due up for shareholder vote in 2020, according to Marathon's 2019 proxy statement. (Reporting by Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)