26 January, 2012
("SeaEnergy" or the "Company")
Strategic Update, Board Changes and Disposal of Montenegrin Interests.
SeaEnergy, announces today a strategic update and certain Board changes.
Strategic Update
Following the disposal of SeaEnergy Renewables Limited in
June 2011, the Company has been actively focusing its core
strategy of developing new ventures in the energy sector. It
has concluded that the Company should focus on the building
and acquiring of complementary service businesses, including
the provision of operations and maintenance to offshore wind
farms and the vessels from which to provide these
services.
SeaEnergy believes that the continuing development of this
energy services business provides significant prospects for a
sustainable and cash generative business model, with
potential for the creation of further shareholder value.
The Group's legacy oil and gas assets are not deemed to be
core to this business but whilst there remain some near term
value accretive opportunities further investments may be
made. The Company will seek to realise the value of these
holdings in due course.
The Company today also announces that Steve Remp (the current Executive Chairman) is stepping down from the Board. He is replaced by David Sigsworth (currently senior Non-Executive Director), as Non-Executive Chairman and John Aldersey-Williams (currently a Non-Executive Director) as Acting Chief Executive. These Board changes will take place with immediate effect.
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The Board is well advanced in the process of the selection
and recruitment of a new Chief Executive and will make a
further announcement when an appointment has been made.
Mr Remp is stepping down from the Group he founded in 1977
after a career spanning 34 years in order to concentrate on
personal investment activities. During this time the Group
recorded some ground breaking successes, most notably its
participation in the ACG oil field in the Caspian Sea and,
more recently, the sale of SeaEnergy Renewables. Mr Remp will
receive £503,000 compensation under his service agreement and
will acquire certain non-core group oil & gas interests in
Montenegro, with SeaEnergy retaining an upside participation
in any future realisations.
The Group has historically held interests in exploration
offshore Montenegro, which have been the subject of disputes
with the Montenegrin Government for a number of years. All of
the Group's efforts to resolve the disputes and re-start
exploration in the area have to-date been unsuccessful and
the Group has fully expensed all of its past costs in the
region. The Board believes that ongoing disputes of this
nature and the related costs will detract from the refined
strategy which has been adopted. Consequently the Board has
agreed to transfer the subsidiaries which hold these
interests to Gasmonte Limited (a company owned by Mr Remp)
for nil consideration. Mr Remp has expressed interest in
funding the pursuit of these opportunities further and,
although he will have no obligation to do so, the Group will
be entitled to participate in any future success arising from
these historic interests up to maximum of US $20 million.
This allows the Group to retain a significant potential
upside whilst avoiding the management time and ongoing costs
involved with trying to resolve the disputes and advance the
opportunities.
The Directors of Sea Energy PLC (other than Mr Remp, who is
interested in the transaction), having consulted with
Investec Investment Banking (a division of Investec Bank plc)
the Company's nominated adviser, consider that the terms
of the disposal of Medusa Oil and Gas limited and Medusa
(Montenegro) Limited to Gasmonte Limited are fair and
reasonable insofar as the Company's shareholders are
concerned.
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It is anticipated that the audited results for the year ended 31 December 2011 will be announced in April 2012. At that time the board will provide shareholders with further details of its strategy for the Company and the results of its considerations on a return of capital to shareholders.
Commenting on today's announcement, David Sigsworth said:"The Board believes that a number of significant opportunities exist to sustainably build value, generate returns for shareholders and reduce share price volatility. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Steve for his unwavering commitment to the development of this Company and his continued support as a significant shareholder."
Steve Remp said:"I am proud to have founded, built and led SeaEnergy, and Ramco before it, over more than three decades, and to have achieved some exceptional successes, including building partnerships with some of the world's leading companies. I wish the new team every success and look forward to taking forward a number of exciting opportunities."
For further information contact:
SeaEnergy PLC
John Aldersey-Williams - Acting Chief Executive
Officer
+44 12 2474 8480
+44 20 7597 4000
Pelham Bell Pottinger
Mark Antelme, Philippe Polman
+44 20 7861 3232
www.seaenergy-plc.com
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Notes for Editors:
1. SeaEnergy PLC is an AIM listed company, which was first
listed as Ramco Energy plc on the USM in 1984, and was also
listed on the American Stock Exchange between 1997 and 2000.
It changed its name to SeaEnergy PLC in 2008, to reflect its
emerging focus on the renewables sector.
2. Over the last 35 years, the company has had interests in
oilfield services, oilfield development, offshore wind farm
development and has most recently been developing a business
in offshore wind farm services.
3. David Sigsworth spent the majority of his career in the
electricity utilities, latterly as a main board director of
Scottish & Southern Energy plc (now SSE plc). His
responsibilities covered energy trading, generation and
supply. In
2005 he retired from SSE and now holds a number of
non-executive
directorships. He is also Chairman of the Scottish
Environment Protection
Agency.
4. John Aldersey-Williams graduated from Cambridge University
with a degree in Geological Sciences in 1984. After a period
as a geologist in the oil industry, during which he completed
an MBA, he joined J. Henry Schroder Wagg & Co. Limited (now
part of the Citigroup), as an investment banker in a
specialist energy team. He returned to the oil industry,
where his last position was Fiscal Manager, responsible for
all aspects of financial planning, reporting and control for
Texaco's North Sea producing business unit. In
2001, he founded Redfield Consulting, a consulting firm which
has been active in the renewables and carbon capture and
storage sectors. Key clients for Redfield were SeaEnergy PLC,
the European Marine Energy Centre,
Talisman Energy and the Scottish Government. John has been a
non- executive director of SeaEnergy PLC since 2008.
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