Anybody wish to convey how they will be voting - I'm undecided....any thoughts ?
Well Well - I'd say markets are waiting for outcome of EGM and Who will be running the show thereafter.
Something not right here!!.. Topknot, I agree, until EGM is held, only then will the smoke clear and a winner is left standing be it the current BOD or Natlata. The only winner I'm concerned with is the sp, I've averaged down lately and even with todays nose dive I'm still in relatively good shape but its not that long ago that this sp was trading at the 70p plus on softer ground. We are now on firmer ground with the farm-out deal and cash ( whether the cash is used to pay off debts or not ) and sp is still lingering and stuck in the swamps of Siberia !
from this morning's Irish Independent....."PetroNeft's shares soar as Natlata warms to deal with Oil India PETRONEFT'S share price has soared after activist shareholder Natlata indicated it may row in behind the company's deal with new partner Oil India. PetroNeft announced on Friday that it had agreed an $85m (€61.5m) binding 'farm-out' deal for its much-hyped License 61 in the Tomsk Oblast area of Russia. The deal with Oil India includes $35m in cash upfront, which would enable the company to repay debts to creditors Macquarie and Arawak as well as finance the development of the licence, which it owns and operates. The oil and gas explorer will execute a binding legal agreement for the farm-out deal within the week, in exchange for a 50pc stake in the asset. Natlata, PetroNeft's biggest shareholder, had expressed opposition to such a deal. But now the private investment firm has said that "if the deal is as attractive as suggested, Natlata would consider supporting it", while adding: "With such complex deals, the devil is in the details, of which the board has characteristically provided very few." In a statement yesterday, Natlata set out a series of questions about the deal that it wants answered before it will consider giving its support, stating: "The announcement only provided clarity with respect to $35m, while the rest of the money is or may be subject to the current management actually delivering on its promises – which, Natlata notes, should sound alarm bells for shareholders if past performance is anything to go by". Natlata, backed by Russian businessman Maxim Korbov – a Tomsk-based oil investor and political ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin – has clashed heavily with the board of Petroneft in recent months. It has already proposed the removal of five directors from the company as well as alternative financing arrangements that would see Natlata take on a much larger stake in the explorer. These internal struggles have taken place against a serious deadline; creditor Macquarie had the right to ask for License 61 to be sold if a financing arrangement was not reached by mid-April, though this was not acted upon. Closer to home, Davy Stockbrokers called the Oil India deal positive in a note to clients. Analyst Job Langbroek said the deal "re-starts the investment case for PetroNeft." "It will now be completely debt-free and will participate in a properly capitalised work programme to develop Licence 61 in the Tomsk Oblast of western Siberia" said Mr Langbroek. "Following the deal, we estimate an 11.3p per share core valuation, especially as the group now has the wherewithal to achieve it." Shares in the Dublin and London-listed firm rose up to 14pc in early trading yesterday before closing in Dublin up 7pc at 8c and at 6.45p in London."
..this is why I hate AIM. A £59.60 trade for a couple of hundred shares and the freaking sp drops nearly a % !!!!
Natlata to Report PetroNeft Board for Breach of Corporate Governance London, 17 April 2014. Natlata Partners Limited (“Natlataâ€), the private investment company that is the largest single shareholder in PetroNeft Resources PLC (“PetroNeft†or “the Companyâ€) (AIM: PTR) announces that it is to report the Board of PetroNeft to the appropriate authorities for being in breach of AIM Rule 20. AIM Rule 20 requires listed companies to make available on their website pursuant to AIM Rule 26 all documents that are provided to shareholders. PetroNeft has failed to place on its website a letter sent by the Board to shareholders recommending that they vote against all motions proposed by Natlata at the forthcoming EGM. Furthermore, the letter, which gives shareholders no option to vote in favour of the motions, again calls into question the corporate governance practices of the Board. The Board of Petroneft has previously defied best corporate governance practice by: • Refusing to give shareholders any say in a potential farm-out deal and reviewing all financing alternatives; • Having a clear conflict of interest with one board member and significant shareholder also being the beneficial owner and general director of the only drilling contractor used by the Company; • After Natlata requisitioned the EGM, the Board carried out a placing of nearly 10% of the Company’s share capital to an undisclosed, unidentified, closed group; • Including just one quasi-independent director on a seven member Board. Commenting on the Board’s letter, Maxim Korobov, Natlata’s controlling shareholder, said, “As a shareholder of Petroneft, I am deeply concerned with the flagrant disregard for proper Corporate Governance at the Company. Management is answerable to the owners of Petroneft, the shareholders, and to date key decisions, such as the farm out of Petroneft’s core asset Licence 61, have been conducted behind closed doors. There has been no opportunity for shareholders to have any say in the future of their company whatsoever. Management’s decision to send shareholders a letter that only gives the opportunity to vote ‘against’ the EGM resolutions further demonstrates that the Company gives no value whatsoever to what the shareholders think. It is clearly time for change.†A copy of a fair voting form enabling shareholders to vote either FOR or AGAINST Natlata’s proposals is available for download at www.value4petroneft.com/voting-form. Natlata urges all shareholders not to cast their votes on the EGM resolutions until 22 April 2014 when the Company has announced the terms of the farm-out. ENDS About Natlata Partners Limited Natlata Partners is a private investment company that seeks out investments with a focus on Russia and CIS countries that appear to be distressed or are at an early stage of development and which will clearly benefit from effective management and proven sector experience. For more information about Natlata and our investments please contact [email protected]. More details on our proposals for PetroNeft can be found at www.value4petroneft.com. For media enquiries please contact: Stuart Leasor [email protected] +44 7703 5377211 or Tom Blackwell [email protected] +7 919 102 9064 Natlata to Report PetroNeft Board for Breach of Corporate Governance London, 17 April 2014. Natlata Partners Limited (“Natlataâ€), the private investment company that is the largest single shareholder in PetroNeft Resources PLC (“PetroNeft†or “the Companyâ€) (AIM: PTR) announces that it is to report the Board of PetroNeft to the appropriate authorities for being in breach of AIM Rule 20. AIM Rule 20 requires listed companies to make available on their website pursuant to AIM Rule 26 all documents that are provided to shareholders. PetroNeft has failed to place on its website a letter sent by the Board to shareholders recommending that they vote against all motions proposed by Natlata at the forthcoming EGM. Furthermore, the letter, which gives shareholders no option to vote in favour of the motions, again calls into question the corporate governance practices of the Board. The Board of Petroneft has previously defied best corporate governance practice by: • Refusing to give shareholders any say in a potential farm-out deal and reviewing all financing alternatives; • Having a clear conflict of interest with one board member and significant shareholder also being the beneficial owner and general director of the only drilling contractor used by the Company; • After Natlata requisitioned the EGM, the Board carried out a placing of nearly 10% of the Company’s share capital to an undisclosed, unidentified, closed group; • Including just one quasi-independent director on a seven member Board. Commenting on the Board’s letter, Maxim Korobov, Natlata’s controlling shareholder, said, “As a shareholder of Petroneft, I am deeply concerned with the flagrant disregard for proper Corporate Governance at the Company. Management is answerable to the owners of Petroneft, the shareholders, and to date key decisions, such as the farm out of Petroneft’s core asset Licence 61, have been conducted behind closed doors. There has been no opportunity for shareholders to have any say in the future of their company whatsoever. Management’s decision to send shareholders a letter that only gives the opportunity to vote ‘against’ the EGM resolutions further demonstrates that the Company gives no value whatsoever to what the shareholders think. It is clearly time for change.†A copy of a fair voting form enabling shareholders to vote either FOR or AGAINST Natlata’s proposals is available for download at www.value4petroneft.com/voting-form. Natlata urges all shareholders not to cast their votes on the EGM resolutions until 22 April 2014 when the Company has announced the terms of the farm-out. ENDS About Natlata Partners Limited Natlata Partners is a private investment company that seeks out investments with a focus on Russia and CIS countries that appear to be distressed or are at an early stage of development and which will clearly benefit from effective management and proven sector experience. For more information about Natlata and our investments please contact [email protected] is getting interesting ! +7 919 102 9064
From Oilbarrel 24th MArch "Petroneft Resources, which is finally inching towards sign off on a long promised farm-out of its flagship Licence 61 in Russia, finds itself fighting off a rear-guard action from a dissident shareholder allied to the Putin government. Natlata Partners, which has more than 10 per cent of the Dublin-based company, has called for an EGM to remove the existing Board, present its own financing proposal and make the farm-out subject to shareholder approval. Natlata, a private investment company controlled by Maxim Korobov, a businessman with oil and gas interests in Western Siberia, has offered a cheap debt-to-equity proposal, along with a proposed US$10 million open offer, which would give it control of PetroNeft without making a formal offer. This would remove PetroNeft's urgent debt crunch but would likely scupper the long-sought farm-out of Licence 61 in Tomsk Oblast, Western Siberia. Indeed, Korobov, who as a member of Putin's United Russia party was an MP between 1999 and 2011, says the planned farm-out is “a case of selling off the family silver - nearly 50 per cent of the company’s value – at an, as yet, unknown price, without shareholders’ approvalâ€. However, PetroNeft, which currently pumps 2,400 bpd, said the Nutala financing proposal was not in the interests of shareholders as a whole. Indeed, the proposals would see the company controlled by Korobov's outfit without making a formal offer for the company. Korobov has form when it comes to being an activist shareholder; he is among those who requisitioned an EGM at Sweden's under-pressure PetroGrand, which also operates in the Tomsk Oblast. Undoubtedly, after some difficult years, PetroNeft has a number of disaffected shareholders, wearied by delays and missed production targets, who may be tempted by the Natlata proposal yet come to regret the loss of control over the longer term. One thing is certain. These kind of scuffles drain management time and are highly disruptive, particularly when a complex farm-out is being negotiated. PetroNeft says it is making “solid progress†with a large international oil and gas company for the farm-out of Licence 61 in a deal that would retire the debt, provide working capital and ensure the capability and financial muscle of an international company to advance the acreage. The AIM-quoted company says it expects to finalise the transaction in the coming weeks. This could not be more urgent as without a farm-out in place by April 15, PetroNeft could be forced to sell off Licence 61 to satisfy its key creditor Macquarie Bank. The cash crunch and the need to stave off default on its Macquarie loan recently forced another equity issue, with the Dublin E&P raising US$6.7 million through new equity issued at 5 pence per share and another tranche of debt, taking its loan with Arawak Energy to US$16.5 million. Analysts at Davy Research in Dublin welcomed the fundraise, saying it “provides financial space to complete a major farm-out in the coming weeksâ€, an event that could prove to be a “watershed in the group’s fortunesâ€. Indeed, this is the irony of the Natlata attack: after some difficult years, of missed production targets and funding constraints, PetroNeft could be at a turning point. The shares are trading north of 6 pence, more than double the lows of last summer, and analysts believe the conclusion of the farm-out could trigger a re-rating of the stock, at which point it will no longer be so vulnerable to these kinds of tactics. Interesting times.
Hi Guest ! reveal yourself or are you on a cohort operation for Natlata....another curious scarlet pimpernel !