Shareholder seeks court protection for Petroceltic

Worldview, a dissident shareholder in exploration firm Petroceltic, has brought a High Court petition aimed at securing court protection for Petroceltic and the appointment of an examiner.

Worldview is a 29% share- holder. It has been in dispute with the Petroceltic board for more than 18 months.

Earlier yesterday, Skye Investments, the investment vehicle headed by Petroceltic chairman Robert Adair, which owns a 19% stake in the firm, said the latest takeover offer from Worldview undervalued the company. Worldview’s petition came before Mr Justice Brian McGovern yesterday.

The judge made relevant directions and told Declan Murphy, for Worldview, he would return the matter to April 4.

The petition, brought by Worldview EHS International Master Fund, with registered offices in the Cayman Islands, is seeking court protection and the appointment of Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton as examiner. If appointed, his task will be to devise a scheme of arrangement to be put before creditors of Petroceltic.

The petition seeks protection for Petroceltic International plc and two related companies, Petroceltic Investments Ltd and Petroceltic Ain Tsila Ltd. Worldview says it does not usually have access to information or documents relating to Petroceltic other than publicly available information but believes the information relied upon in the petition was true and accurate.

It had not relied in the petition on extra information provided to it on a confidential basis in the context of discussions with Petroceltic, it said. Worldview claims that Petroceltic is in an “extremely uncertain position” relating to its bank facilities and its ability to continue as a going concern.