By Shadia Nasralla
LONDON (Reuters) – Capricorn Energy is willing to add “a number” of people put forward by activist investor Palliser to its board while it pursues a merger with Israel’s NewMed, Capricorn said on Monday.
Palliser, which is Capricorn’s third-biggest shareholder and has spoken out against the proposed merger in its current form, last month called for a general meeting vote on removing seven Capricorn directors from supervisory roles, including the CEO.
“We are ready to add a number of your nominees to the board promptly and well before the general meetings,” Capricorn said in a letter to Palliser posted on its website.
Capricorn declined to clarify how exactly the board might change.
The shareholder meeting to vote on the board changes proposed by Palliser is planned for Feb. 1, with a shareholder vote on the NewMed deal “on or around the same date”, Capricorn said.
Palliser did not respond to a request for comment on Capricorn’s proposal, but it issued a statement on Monday, shortly before Capricorn did, objecting to the tight scheduling.
“Holding the general meetings so close together deprives any reconstituted Capricorn board of the opportunity to re-assess the merits and terms of the NewMed transaction in parallel with a consideration of a range of other options,” the statement said.
(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; Editing by David Goodman and Barbara Lewis)
