LONDON (Alliance News) - Exillon Energy PLC Wednesday said the acquisition of a 14.9% stake in the company by Flowdale Investments Limited took place without the knowledge or consent of the Exillon board.
The Russian oil producer, which formally put itself up for sale last month, said Flowdale, which is owned by Russian tycoon Mikhail Gutseriyev, purchased over 24 million shares in Exillon on November 18 at a price per share of 275 pence, giving Gutseriyev a 14.9% holding.
Gutseriyev, who fled Russia in 2007 following accusations of tax fraud and the death of his son in mysterious circumstances, recently consolidated his ownership of Russian major oil company Russneft and according to Reuters is rumoured to be a possible bidder for a 21.75 percent stake in Russian potash company Uralkali OAO, owned by billionaire Suleiman Kerimov.
The company said the ongoing formal sale process of the company is proceeding as planned, and it expects to provide an update to the market on the outcome ahead of the Christmas period.
In September, Kazakh businessman Maksat Arip, the founder of Exillon, said he intends to participate in the auction of Exillon, after Exillon turned down his offer to re-acquire it in July.
The UK financial services regulator last year investigated the company and censured and fined it for not disclosing that it had paid out nearly GBP1 million on private jets, school fees and credit card payments for Arip, who at the time regularly shuttled between Russia, London and Dubai.
The Financial Services Authority ruled the company hadn't technically done anything wrong in making the payments but should have disclosed them under stock market rules.
Exillon shares were up 0.4% to 264.00 pence Wednesday.
By Tom McIvor; tommcivor@alliancenews.com; @TomMcIvor1
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