Battle for Bowleven rages as crucial vote nears

THE battle for control of Bowleven has stepped up after the incumbent regime revealed a further corporate governance specialist has recommended shareholders vote against resolutions calling for a boardroom shake-up at the firm.

Crown Ocean Capital, the Monaco-based investment firm calling for the removal of all but one of Bowleven’s board, responded by announcing it has increased its stake in the Edinburghbased company to 17.6 per cent. It has now cast its votes by proxy in favour of its resolutions, which will go to a shareholder vote at a general meeting on March 14. The deadline for proxy votes is on Friday.

Crown Ocean has tabled resolutions calling for new leadership and a radical change of strategy at Bowleven, which holds a 20 per cent stake in the potentially lucrative Etinde permit in Cameroon.

It has called for six Bowleven directors, including chief executive Kevin Hart, to be removed, and for oil and gas veteran Eli Chahin and turnaround specialist Christopher Ashworth to be placed on the board.

Bowleven has mounted a vigorous defence of its strategy and yesterday announced that a third corporate advisory specialist, Glass Lewis, has recommended shareholders vote against the Crown Ocean resolutions. That came after a similar position was taken by corporate governance specialists Institutional Shareholder Services and Pensions & Investment Research earlier this week, though the latter said it did support the removal of non-executive director Phil Tracy from the Bowleven board.