A shareholder of oil producer Tap Oil has ruffled a few feathers by seeking to appoint a board of his own choosing.
Chatchai Yenbamroong, owner of 19.98 per cent of Tap Oil after increasing his concerns from six per cent, has caused non-executive director Douglas Schwebel to publically out the plans of the Thai entrepreneur.
“Mr Yenbanroong is proposing to appoint 80 per cent of the Tap board when he only has voting control over 19.98 per cent of Tap shares,” Schwebel said in a letter to shareholders.
“The Tap board is unanimous in its view that this is an opportunistic attempt by Mr Yenbamroong to take control of your company without making a formal offer and paying a control premium to all Tap shareholders.
Schwebel said Yenbanroong had an intimate knowledge of the Manora oil field through his joint venture affiliated company North Gulf Petroleum, and that he had sold 75 per cent of his 40 per cent interest in the company while Tap funded development of its share of the field.
Having learned of Yenbanroong’s attempt to replace three of the four current board directors with four of his own choosing, the board of Tap Oil announced it would undertake a strategic review of asset divestment options to reduce company debt and potentially allow payment of a fully franked dividend to shareholders.
Tap Oil (ASX:TAP) is trading at 0.31c, representing a new surge of interest following these announcements.