25th Jun 2015 10:24
LONDON (Alliance News) - Embattled Afren PLC said its chairman and four non-executive directors will not seek re-election at the company's annual general meeting, being held Thursday.
Afren, which has recently proposed a major restructuring of the company and its debt, is holding its AGM late Thursday morning, where Chairman Egbert Imomoh and non-executive directors Toby Hayward, Patrick Obath, Sheree Bryant and Iain McLaren will not seek re-election and will stand down.
In a separate statement, Imomoh said: "The internal changes go beyond the board movements. All of our internal processes have been reviewed and amended where necessary to ensure compliance with corporate governance best practice. We have run comprehensive training for our employees and contractors in anti-bribery and corruption laws, and are confident that we now have a robust infrastructure in place to avoid the failures of the past."
David Frauman will join the Afren board as non-executive chairman and has already been working with the company during its restructuring process as a consultant. He has over 35 years of experience as a restructuring lawyer, having retired as a partner of Allen and Overy LLP in 2009.
Chief Operating Officer David Thomas, who joined Afren recently, also will become an executive director after the AGM.
"The composition of the various board committees will be reviewed shortly. The process of recruitment to strengthen the board of Afren further is ongoing. In the meantime, the departing directors will be available to contribute to a smooth handover process," said Afren.
Afren will be holding an extraordinary general meeting in July for shareholders to vote on major restructuring proposals in an attempt to salvage the company, which includes an open offer and a restructuring of its bonds and debt.
"In March, we announced the terms of a financial restructuring which had been agreed with our creditors, and which provided essential additional funding to the group - without this funding, I can genuinely say that we would not be here today," said the outgoing Imomoh.
"Your board believes that this is the only viable option to secure Afren's future and to provide an opportunity for shareholders to realise value in their investment in the company. Your board also unanimously recommends that you vote in favour of the restructuring at the extraordinary general meeting to be held on July 24, because a 'No Vote' will mean shareholders will receive no return at all," he added.
"In summary, the last 12 months have been far from what we planned and results have been disappointing and have led to a very sharp drop in our share price and a loss of confidence by stakeholders," said Imomoh.
Afren also said production in the first quarter of the year averaged above its guidance of 23,000 to 32,000 barrels of oil per day, coming in at 36,035 barrels, delivering revenue of USD130 million, down from USD269 million a year earlier due to the slump in oil prices.
Afren shares were down 1.2% to 1.98 pence per share late Thursday morning.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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