Worldview takeover offer for Petroceltic lapses
The long-running, bitter battle between Worldview Capital and Petroceltic has taken another unexpected turn.
Last week, it looked like activist investor Worldview, also the Dublin-based oil explorers largest shareholder with a 29.6 percent stake, was on the road to victory.
Petroceltic's board had urged shareholders to accept a 3p per share offer it had previously rejected on the grounds it undervalued the company.
Read more: Activist investor Worldview buys 69.44 per cent of Petroceltic's debt
But Worldview said today that its offer's acceptance rate had fallen short of the requisite 90 per cent of shares it doesn't already own in Petroceltic.
“As valid acceptances of the offer, representing only approximately 54.6 per cent of the Petroceltic shares affected were received by the closing date and time, the acceptance condition has not been satisfied and the offer has lapsed,” it said in a statement.
Read more: Oil firm Petroceltic wins investor injunction
Petroceltic is currently under examinership, or a process to achieve bankruptcy protection, which can take up to 100 days.
Worldview has made repeated overtures over the last 18 months for changes to Petroceltic's board and the strategic direction of the group.
Petroceltic, which operates in Algeria, Egypt, the Black Sea and the Kurdistan region of Iraq, has been struggling with crude oil prices falling to multi-year lows.