Petroceltic boss Brian O’Cathain bites back after Worldview Capital repeats allegations
Oil boss Brian O’Cathain, chief executive of Irish firm Petroceltic, last night hit back at activist shareholder Worldview Capital, which is calling for his resignation, and accused it of “trying to take over the company, but not at fair value”.
The Swiss group issued a circular yesterday in which it claimed that Petroceltic will run out of cash and be forced to raise new capital again this year and said it will not support any further capital raises as long as O’Cathain remains in the job.
O’Cathain told City A.M. last night that the assertions made by Worldview, which has a 29 per cent stake in Petroceltic, were “totally unfounded”. Last year, Worldview issued legal proceedings against the firm over an alleged corporate governance breach. Petroceltic is challenging the jurisdiction of the case, which was brought in London, while it is based in Dublin.
Shares in Petroceltic dipped 0.77 per cent yesterday, however O’Cathain said: “The main impact it’s having is on the management team, it’s distracting. It’s costly to fight frivolous legal cases”.