Wall Street Journal article offers rare inside look at Irving empire

CTV Atlantic: Revelations about the family feud The Wall Street Journal took a rare look inside the usually secretive Irving Empire and a family feud that seems to be changing business.

The Wall Street Journal has taken a rare look inside the usually secretive Irving empire, and a family feud that seems to be changing the way the company does business.

The New York-based newspaper says it conducted an interview with former Irving Oil president Kenneth Irving. They say this is the first time Irving has spoken publicly since his departure from the company about four years ago.

In the article, reporter Alistair MacLeod describes Irving’s departure as an acrimonious, behind-closed-doors split with his father, Arthur Irving Sr.

Kenneth Irving was at the helm when the company formed a partnership with British Petroleum to build a second refinery in Saint John - a proposal that was eventually shelved.

“Tensions with his dad began to surface when Arthur Sr., to the surprise of senior employees, returned to Irving Oil and began to get involved in company decision-making again. He also distanced himself from the BP project,” says the Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper also details what it describes as a schism in the larger Irving Family empire, with the major companies showing less of the vertical integration developed by founder K.C. Irving.

“Private feuds have broken the once monolithic Irving Family business in separate groups now operating on their own,” it says.

The paper says one feud went all the way to the Bermuda Supreme Court - a legal battle over the distribution of funds in the family trust. The newspaper quotes a court judgment saying Kenneth Irving was “overcome emotionally” over the split with the family.

Though names have been redacted from the court documents, the Wall Street Journal identifies that case as involving the Irving family.

Kenneth Irving is now focusing his attention on high-tech, digital infrastructure in the United States, rather than on the energy infrastructure he grew up with and expanded.

In his interview with the Wall Street Journal, Kenneth Irving is quoted as saying his departure from the company was stressful on relationships and he hopes they can be repaired.

CTV News contacted Irving Oil for comment on the article. The company did not respond to requests for comment.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron