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"If there were any deals to be concluded, I would suggest any fund raising would follow at a significant premium to the the current sp......." Really?

When is the last time you saw any AIM-listed minnow oil company raise money at a significant premium?

In the current coronavirus-afflicted environment with oil prices around $40/barrel it is highly unlikely that any small oil company will even try to raise funds, let alone at a premium.

"de-ramper"... hilarious! GBP is already trading at c1p and valued at c£2m. Gosh... who would need it to go any lower???

I feel sorry for existing shareholders and hope that the future turns bright very soon.

Once again, your post is full of smoke and fury, signifying nothing.

Don't you have an opinion on the valuation that Azinam might seek in a theoretical merger? That seems to be the topic of the day.

I don't know who wanted to buy your holding but it certainly wasn't me.

It is funny that you speak of "a potential suitor trying to keep GBP's value down"...

During the last year GBP's highest market cap didn't even reach £6m and for most of the preceding twelve months its value has hovered in the £2-3m range. I really don't think any incoming investor is going to bother squeezing the company any further, it's low enough already and has been for ages.

I'm going to ignore your puerile insults. I'm more interested in the debate than the participants.

You don't seem to understand that GBP (including all of its assets in Namibia and Italy) is valued at c£2m. The company has high quality assets with great potential, I agree. But they are risky, as demonstrated by every other drilling event in Namibia during the last decade, and GBP is also running low on cash. As a result, the public markets have valued the company at c£2m. That is an undeniable fact, just get over it if you can.

What is Azinam worth? Gosh, who knows? It also has a good portfolio of assets in Namibia that have easily been as well-developed as GBP's assets. It also has its blocks in South Africa. As I said previously, Azinam has tried to IPO at a valuation of >$60m in the past. They have also spent at least $80m on seismic across their portfolio.

So what sort of valuation do you think the owners of Azinam would want to achieve in a merger with GBP? $60m? $80m? £20m? I don't know - and neither do you -- but for sure it will be much higher than the £2m current valuation of GBP. Which means, that if such a merger goes ahead, GBP's current shareholders are going to be diluted massively.

You keep making all sorts of accusations but you never actually step up and post your own assessment of Azinam's value - and the impact it would have on GBP during a theoretical merger.

Since Azinam is a private company, its owners can use a variety of techniques and metrics to develop a valuation. They can use CPRs, maybe $/bbl for 2P resources, maybe they can refer to Eco as a reference... There are lots of options for theoretically deriving the "value" of a private oil company. But that all changes when a private company goes public by any route. Its theoretical value crystallizes into a much more tangible figure that is instantly available on the screens of investors worldwide.

Imagine how Azinam's private equity investors would react if - after investing >$80m into Azinam - they saw their prize company merged with GBP at a pre-money valuation of a few million pounds! Very very unlikely to happen. The only way such a merger goes ahead is if GBP's existing shareholders get diluted massively. "Public Market Homeopathy" ;)

And then afterwards, as you agreed in your post, there would be even MORE dilution when (or "if") the combined entity raised money for multiple wells... Nightmare!

Dude, you're funny sometimes: "you are paid to write dross on this micro cap as your company would like to see a lower entry price".

First of all, GBP's entire market cap is c£2m and it is tightly held by the Peters. So any fund that tried to enter GBP by purchasing shares on the public markets could never hope to acquire a material stake in the company. Maybe, mayyyybe they could hope to acquire 10-20% of GBP without sending the share price through the roof, but that is highly unlikely.

In any case, if an investment company was trying to accumulate a material stake via the public markets then everyone would already know about it! Because AIM rules state (AIM Rule 17) that shareholders who accumulate 3% or more of an AIM company must notify the markets - and all such notifications would be visible here on LSE. So, have you seen any? No. Would any investment company bother holding less than 3% of GBP (which would be worth c£60k)? No. So try to get your facts straight before you start casting aspersions.

You note that Panmure has just been taken on by GBP, which is very good news, I agree. Hopefully they can find incremental funding for GBP and the future is rosy.

Sorry mate, but the reference you quote refers to US markets (that's why the article quotes the SEC) and it only really applies to cases where a private company backs into a publicly-listed shell company. GBP is on AIM and it is not a shell company. Ask any investment banker...on the London public markets an RTO is nearly (but not quite) as complicated and expensive as an IPO.

If Azinam does somehow complete and RTO of GBP then good for them! I hope it makes all shareholders happy. An RTO in itself doesn't necessarily provide any additional funding, however, so the combined entity would still face the same challenges that the two separate entities face today. It would still need to raise more money and/or farm out a bunch of assets.

I see that you claim - and I quote - "It matters not the history of spend...". Perhaps not. But in an RTO the respective parties still need to assign a valuation to Azinam. GBP's valuation is publicly available and obvious. But Azinam's? Not really.

Azinam has a much, much bigger portfolio of assets than GBP spanning both Namibia and South Africa. And those assets are covered by vast swathes of 3D seismic. There is no way that Azinam would be valued at a figure anywhere close to GBP's £2m market cap. If an RTO did go ahead it is a fact that GBP's existing shareholders would be diluted massively.

What value do YOU think Azinam would claim in an RTO?

As per my posts below, I still maintain that an Azinam-GBP RTO is unlikely (although not unfeasible). However....

If Seacrest has managed to scrounge more funding then there is a chance that SeaPulse could farm into GBP's drill-ready block and also farm into Azinam's Namibian assets. (Which is exactly what SeaPulse did with Azinor in the North Sea). That would produce a multi-well drilling program that should impact positively on GBP, Eco and Azinam without causing any massive shareholder dilution within the public companies involved.

Yes I meant McKeown. Not that it matters and not that I really care. I'm pretty sure you knew who I was talking about...

Here is the link again:
https://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL5N1VZ256

Azinam announced an IPO in 2018. McKeown (phew, glad I got that right!) even wrote bullishly about it. But it did not proceed, obviously. So the attempt was a failure. What's contentious about that? Are you saying their IPO attempt was a success? :)

No need to be rude. I haven't accused you or ramping or de-ramping or whatever. I'm just interested in the facts and how this alleged deal may or may not play out. I don't hold GBP but I would like to see it succeed.

Sorry to replay the same point, but on AIM, an RTO requires a readmission. There is very little difference in cost/complexity between an IPO and a readmission.

If there is to be some sort of merger/RTO/whatever involving GBP and Azinam then it will be fun to see what valuations they use. GBP is a public company valued a c£2m. Many holders of GBP may argue that its current valuation does not reflect the quality of its assets or the amount invested into them so far or their vast potential - and they would be right! Even so, there is no escaping that c£2m valuation figure.

Azinam is a private company with assets in both Namibia and South Africa, most of which have been covered by 3D seismic. We know that Azinam has invested at least $80m into its Namibia assets, plus who-knows-how-much more into its South African assets.

If there was to be an sort of merger between Azinam and GBP you can bet that GBP shareholders will be squeezed like a lemon between the thighs of a Bulgarian wrestler. When Azinam tried to IPO previously they aimed for a valuation of $60m. And that was before they acquired the full suite of South African assets that they hold today...

If a merger/RTO occurred with GBP at £2m and Azinam at $60m, then current holders of GBP would be left with c4% of the combined entity... Horrific! And the resulting entity would STILL need to raise tons of money to drill wells and/or conduct multiple farmouts.

Both companies are struggling to complete these efforts as independent entities. Jamming them together into one big lump wouldn't necessarily make the job easier...

Interesting thoughts, as always.

Seacrest Capital is a management company and Seacrest LP is a limited partnership into which investors have pledged funds. It's a typical private equity structure. Anyone doing a deal with this mob will negotiate with Seacrest Capital and then receive funds from a Seacrest LP. From an external perspective, it is entirely reasonable to lump both entities together and call them "Seacrest".

I say that the Azinam IPO "failed" because they did announce their efforts to IPO quite widely at the time and then faded away with a whimper. There is no doubt that a string of failed wells in Namibia at the time hampered their efforts. But so what? They tried and they failed, fact. Of course McEwan gave all manner of slimy explanations for pulling the IPO. He's a manager and has to defend his company. I doubt you'd ever hear any manager say publicly "yeah, we screwed up our timing and got shafted by bad news". It's his job to put spin on adverse events, which is completely normal. The IPO did not succeed.

If Seacrest had funds, they wouldn't need to do any sort of IPO/RTO transaction with Azinam during a period of such unfavourable market conditions. We've got low oil prices, coronacrap everywhere, contracting GDP across the board...etc, etc. It's certainly not a good time to be a seller, which adds further evidence to the idea that Seacrest (and thus both Azimuth and Azinam) is out of money.

Sorry Jim, but the cost difference between an IPO and an RTO are not very different. An RTO involves a full admission document and a full suite of compliance checks that are barely any different to those involved in an IPO. If indeed Azinam is trying to complete an RTO of GBP, then it's not to save money, it's to distance themselves from their previous aborted IPO.

Your point about "swapping entire shareholdings" is not entirely correct. Azinam is a private company and its Namibia and South Africa assets are held in different subsidiaries. In a deal between Azinam and GBP, Azinam could contribute pretty much any subset of its assets, or as you say, it could jam the top level Azinam entity into GBP, like an enraged proctologist.

Regarding Okea and SeaPulse...

If you look at the two links below you'll see that Seacrest doesn't really have a stake in Okea, despite the nonsense on their website. The OKEA deal was done separately, outside the umbrella of Seacrest and Azimuth, using a different source of funds.
https://www.gov.bm/50324/okea-holdings-ltd-ian-stone-50324-0
https://www.okea.no/investor/share-information/

Not sure what's your point about SeaPulse. They have indeed been up and running for a couple of years and do indeed appear to have relevant alliances in place. But again, the only deal they've announced is with Azinor, which is another Seacrest company, and even that deal has not yielded any progress nor announcements. Not sure what else they've been doing for the last two years... It doesn't take that l

Last note of the night. "SeaPulse" is simply an entity backed by Seacrest and I-pulse. They signed up Maersk and Enquest and others to provide a "complete drilling solution". But they've done nothing in the (approx) two years since SeaPulse was created. The only deal they have even announced is with Azinor.... (Wait, does that name seem fishy?) Which is another subsidiary of Seacrest/Azimuth. It's just an incestuous little circle with Seacrest at its centre. Aznior was supposed to drill at least two wells in 2020 with SeaPulse but none have been announced. Could be coronavirus-related? Potentially. But more likely balked by a lack of funding within the group. I wouldn't hold out hope for SeaPulse swooping into Namibia to drill wells for GBP-Azinam... I may be wrong and am happy to admit that. But the whole Seacrest/Azimuth edifice seems to be swaying on slippery foundations these days. When ZER wrote down its investment in Seacrest by c75%, that action was based on valuations received directly from Seacrest.

Further to my last post, if you have any doubt about the dire funding situation in Seacrest/Azimuth/Azinam just read the annual reports of Zeta Resources (ZER on the ASX). ZER provided the bulk of Seacrest/Azimuth's funding when it all kicked off. ZER originally valued each of it's shares in Seacrest at $1/share, which rose to >$1.30 in the good years...but then dropped back to approx 25c/share in its last annual report. Which confirms that Seacrest's strategy has not yielded positive results and suggests that it will be hard for them to raise additional funds with such a spotty track record.
If you have any doubt about Seacrest/Azimuth's poor performance, just spend a few minutes on gooooogle and search for "Azipac", which was an Indonesian subsidiary of Azimuth that suddenly disappeared last year when Seacrest (presumably) couldn't fund it. Seacrest/Azimuth's assets in Ireland have not been advanced (see Azeire), nor have their assets in South America (see Azilat).
So while you may be right that an Azinam-GBP merger is on the cards (I couldn't possibly comment on that at all) it's not necessarily a good thing for GBP. Seacrest/Azimuth obviously couldn't raise the money to advance their own assets...so now they are trying to jam them up the rectum of GBP? A suspicious strategy, to be sure ;)

Hi Jimarillo. Your notes about Azinam are intriguing. As you pointed out, they have walked from the block they shared with Chariot (PEL 71) and they were kicked out of the M&P blocks (PEL 44 and 45) for non-payment***.

Azinam has spent a ton of money on seismic in Nambia so far, possibly >$80million. See interesting analysis on Hotcopperrr: https://hotcopper.com.au/threads/ann-annual-report-2018.4477651/page-2?post_id=36283086

Azinam tried and failed to raise $60m to list on the Oslo exchange in 2013:
https://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL5N1VZ256

Seacrest/Azimuth/Azinam were previously very bullish about Namibia, so if they are even contemplating an RTO then it means they were unable to raise money anywhere else and are getting desperate.

Given that Azinam is a private company that has spent (possibly) c$80m on seismic in Namibia, it will be interesting to see what level of pre-money valuation they would hope to achieve if they merged with GBP. (ignoring their south africa assets, which may or may not be included).

All of Azinam's remaining Namibia assets are also held by Eco. So the merger of Azinam and GBP would merely generate an "Eco-Lite". I am not saying that it won't happen... But it wouldn't make it any easier for GBP to raise funds because investors who want access to Eco's Namibian assets can gain that access via Eco, which is already reasonably well funded...

So, interesting times ahead!

The problem is that the current directors are pursuing Landocean for the outstanding c$1.5m that Landocean owes STA (well RRL orignally...). Unfortunately, Landocean is not doing well (go see its declining market cap) and doesn't want to pay. So what's next? Well Landocean's captive fund (Sibo), which still owns a massive chunk of STA stock, will call a meeting and fire the current board, then replace them with docile puppets who will then "overlook" or ignore the outstanding amount that Landocean cannot pay... Watch and see.

You're a strange little creature, Jimarillo. I asked you a simple question, politely, and you responded like an angry child hurling crap from its own sandpit. I did re-read your post regarding Azinam's blocks and there were no details on the source of your alleged information. If you don't have an actual source, then that's fine, you could have simply responded by politely suggesting that I do my own research. When you vomit poorly written assertions speckled with teenage netspeak you completely undermine the value of your posts.

Jimarillo, from where did you get the idea that Azinam has relinquished three licenses in Namibia? Azinam has partners on the three blocks you quoted (Chariot and M&P). They can't just unilaterally walk away... Do you have any public references to support your conclusions?

A tragic result for shareholders. Hate to see people lose money and opportunity. This is exactly why I wrote previously about the insanity of supporting Kononov and his ilk. Voting for a Russian boss and a Russian board rather than a British board and a British market listing is simply masochistic. Crimea, anyone? Donbass? Ossetia? Oligarchs? Novichok? No? All fake news? Voting to give such people control seemed like a good idea, did it? What's next? A voluntary lobotomy? Despite the unadulterated idiocy of the EGM result I do sincerely wish everyone good luck and hope that shareholders get their money back ASAP. Finger crossed on your behalf.

The business practices exhibited in Russia are deplorable! Utterly pathetic, nepotistic, immoral, unfair, unreasonable, nonsensical, and more... You think there is a single Russian businessman who earned or deserved his wealth??? HILARIOUS! None of them do. You praise Kononov? RIDICULOUS! If you got out from behind your little laptop and lived in the real world for a second you'd realise that these Russian lunkheads and their Russian business practices are totally toxic.
You want to say - oh well Kononov has 44% and therefore he wins and so I'll go along with him because I'm an irrelevant loser and I always admire the bully....
Well good for you. Why not just cut off your nuts and post them to Vladimir Putin?