Tap questions dissident tycoon
Tap Oil has stepped up its criticism of its biggest shareholder, questioning whether Thai tycoon Chatchai Yenbamroong retains the support of nominee directors backing his bid to win control of the company.
Mr Yenbamroong holds 19.9 per cent of Tap stock and launched a bid to roll the Tap board in late February, flagging the nomination of four new directors - Alan Stein, David Whitby, David Johnson and James Menzies - in place of Tap chairman Doug Bailey, managing director Troy Hayden and non-executive director Michael Sandy.
But in a shareholders letter attached to Tap's notice of its annual meeting, to be dispatched to shareholders today, the under-siege oil and gas explorer has questions whether the Thai business tycoon retains their support as nominee directors.
Under the section of the Corporations Act used by Mr Yenbamroong to call the spill, he is required to arrange details of the meeting, as well as pay for the expenses of the move.
While Mr Yenbamroong sent a letter to Tap shareholders late last month confirming he still intended to press forward with the spill attempt, Mr Bailey says in the meeting notice there has been no follow-up correspondence with the company.
"Tap has requested confirmation from Mr Yenbamroong that he intends to follow through with his proposal to convene a shareholders' meeting for these purposes. Mr Yenbamroong has to date not yet provided any such confirmation," Mr Bailey said.
"There is also uncertainty as to whether his nominee directors are still willing to remain as his nominees, given that their identity was not mentioned in his letter to Tap shareholders dated 30 March."
Both sides are also slugging it out over control of their combined 40 per cent stake in the Manora oil project, operated by Mubadala Petroleum. Mr Yenbamroong's Northern Gulf Petroleum holds 10 per cent of the project, and Tap 30 per cent, which it bought from Northern Gulf.
Tap has said Mr Yenbamroong is in danger of being stripped of his holding in the project, claiming Northern Gulf had been issued a default notice by Mubadala over an alleged failure to pay $US27.1 million in development and operating costs.
In turn, Mr Yenbamroong last week served a $US14.7 million statutory demand on Tap, claiming the company had failed to make a top-up payment contained in its agreement to buy the project stake, based on updated reserves for the Manora project.
Mr Bailey's letter tells shareholders the company believes there is "no proper legal or commercial basis for payment of such amounts" and it will fight the claim in court.
