LONDON, April 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
Natlata Partners Limited ("Natlata"), the private investment company that is the largest single shareholder in PetroNeft Resources PLC ("PetroNeft" or "the Company") (AIM: PTR) has today sent out a letter to all shareholders outlining why it is vital for shareholders to vote for Natlata's proposals at the Extraordinary General Meeting ("EGM") due to be held in Dublin on 9 May 2014, for the value of PetroNeft to be restored.
Natlata has required PetroNeft to call an EGM for shareholders to consider two substantive issues. Firstly, to revive the board of directors by replacing five of the current directors with a team that is right for the task ahead:
- Pavel Tetyakov as CEO. Based in Tomsk, the operational home of PetroNeft, he has 12 years relevant experience of successful business development and oilfield operations experience, including in the Tomsk region
- Richard Thornton as CFO. Nearly 40 years in finance, both as a finance director and company secretary, including for AIM companies
- David Sturt as an independent non-executive director and chairman of the board. A top manager with geology and geophysics background and nearly 30 years of oil and gas industry experience across the globe including Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine
- Anthony Sacca as an independent non-executive director. Senior financial executive with nearly 20 years working in Russia
- Fraser Innes as an independent non-executive director. Over 35 years of oil and gas experience, with significant technical background in drilling and completion technology and its implementation,
and secondly, giving directions to the board to:
- have an independent investigation undertaken to identify material operational inefficiencies and/or issues within PetroNeft and to have an independent resources evaluation of PetroNeft;
- consider refinancing options of the debt currently outstanding to Macquarie Bank Limited; and
- require that the farm-out of PetroNeft's key asset - License No. 61 - is subject to approval by all shareholders.
Commenting on the Board's circular, Maxim Korobov, Natlata's controlling shareholder, said, "We are asking shareholders to study both our and the Board's proposals. Compare the tired promises and falsehoods that have again been made by the Board - a Board that has turned USD200m of your money into a company with a current market capitalization of only USD65m with our realistic plan for the future. The choice is clear - a new board with a clear vision of what needs to be done, proven expertise in both the business and in Russia, and restored financial foundations or, putting your trust in a team that have shown over the last few years that all they can do is over-promise and under-deliver. For the sake of PetroNeft, your company, we are urging you to vote YES to all our proposals at the EGM."
A copy of the shareholders' letter can be found at http://www.value4petroneft.com/letter-to-shareholders/
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 info@natlata.com. More details on our proposals for PetroNeft can be found at http://www.value4petroneft.com.
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