Shares in San Leon Energy, the Africa-focused oil and gas explorer led by former stockbroker and telecoms entrepreneur Oisín Fanning, plunged on Wednesday as the company said a refinancing deal was taking longer than expected and that the filing of its accounts for 2022 has been delayed.
The company’s shares will be suspended on London’s junior market from July 3rd as it will not be in a position to publish its latest annual accounts by an end-June deadline for companies listed there, it said.
San Leon’s shares closed down 31 per cent in London, bringing their decline over the past 12 months to 62 per cent.
The company has been in talks to secure a $50 million (€46.1 million) loan facility since it unveiled plans to take over certain assets of Nigeria’s Midwestern Oil & Gas Company, which is a 13 per cent shareholder in San Leon, by way of a reverse takeover. The deal would increase San Leon’s indirect 10.6 per cent stake in the so-called OML 18 massive oil operations in Nigeria to over 44.1 per cent.
It would also involve Midwestern transferring its stake in Energy Link Infrastructure (Malta), or ELI, a provider of crude oil transport and storage systems within the Niger Delta area of Nigeria, to San Leon.
San Leon said on Wednesday that the proposed refinancing discussions have not progressed as fast as it expected and, although the discussions are now at a very advanced stage, the company has not yet been able to access the funding from such an alternative loan facility.
“However, with significant progress having been made in the past weeks, the board is still optimistic that a conclusion will be reached and expects to provide an update to shareholders in due course,” it said.
San Leon currently owes about $10.5 million to unpaid creditors, including directors, employees, professional advisers and tax authorities, it said.
“San Leon has sought to maintain a regular dialogue with both its creditors and major shareholders and keep them informed of the status of the proposed refinancing, but there is understandably some pressure from creditors for settlement of amounts due to them and the continuing support of creditors cannot be guaranteed indefinitely,” the company said.
Meanwhile, San Leon also said that it will not be able to publish audited accounts for 2022 by an end-June stock market deadline, as it has yet to receive audited financial statements from a company that ultimately operates OML 18 or ELI, in which the company has an existing 10 per cent stake.
“I recognise that shareholders will be disappointed with the delays to our refinancing and publication of accounts and I, and all of the San Leon board, share that frustration,” said Mr Fanning, the company’s chief executive.
“However, based on our most recent discussions with our proposed funding partners, there is good reason to be optimistic that we are nearing a satisfactory conclusion.”
