Bowleven chairman quits amid activist shareholder pressure

Following a recent boardroom shuffle whereby most of Bowleven’s board members were ousted, the company informed that Billy Allan, the last remaining member from the previous lineup, has also resigned. 

At a general meeting of the company in mid-March, requested by the Monaco-based activist shareholder Crown Ocean Capital (COC), five directors were voted out of the board, including the company CEO Kevin Hart, and replaced by COC’s nominees Christopher Ashworth and Eli Chahin. COC holds over 23% shares of the oil company.

However, the proposal to remove Billy Allan was not passed and he managed to keep his non-executive chairman role. COC then requisitioned another meeting asking for Allan’s removal as a director and the appointment to the board of a further two individuals; Julien Balkany and Didier Lechartier.

In the meantime, the company started a strategic review of its business considering several options including farm-out or sale of one or more of its existing assets or a corporate transaction such as a merger with or sale of the company to a third party, and transforming Bowleven into a holding company, as proposed by COC.

On Thursday, March 30 Bowleven informed that, following 18 months of service, Billy Allan, non-executive chairman of the board, has resigned as a director of the company with immediate effect. He will be replaced as chairman by Christopher Ashworth, non-executive director, with immediate and simultaneous effect.

“The board would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Allan for his service to the company,” Bowleven said in the statement on Thursday.

The company also confirmed that, further to recent press speculation, the employment contracts of both former executive directors Kevin Hart and Kerry Crawford have been terminated with effect from March 31, 2017, and both are no longer involved in the running of the company.

The board continues to focus on carrying out its previously announced strategic review, the statement concluded.

Offshore Energy Today Staff