http://www.gulfkeystone.com/ The firms exploration programme in Algeria is going well and "the shares look good value", say the Investors Chronicle. Your comments please. goal.

Powered by IST's"> Powered by IST's

From August 5 investors will have the freedom to buy shares in the junior market via a tax-efficient Isa.
Investors will be allowed to put shares in Britain's smallest listed companies into their Isa portfolios from next month, it has emerged.
The move to allow shares in companies listed on the Aim market was part of the Budget in March.
The investment industry had predicted the new rules would be introduced at the beginning of the tax-year next April, when savers get a fresh Isa allowance.
However, a date has now been set for August 5, according to a bulletin from the Tax Incentivised Savings Association, the industry body that has been working on the plans.
One of the main reasons the Government is relaxing the tax rules on investing in smaller company shares is the hope it will help boost business and aide the UK's economic recovery.
Putting shares into an Isa means that any returns and gains are tax-free. Outside of an Isa, each person gets an annual capital gains tax allowance, which is £10,600 this year. Cashed-in gains larger than that are taxed at up to 28pc, depending on your total taxable income.
Aim shares are attractive because small companies have large scope for growth. However, their shares are typically very volatile - so only suitable for experienced investors comfortable with taking risks.
Earlier this month, we revealed the Aim shares tipped by three of Britain's best stock-pickers ahead of the new rules.
Gavin Oldham, chief executive of trading website The Share Centre, said: “It’s great to see that Aim shares will be permitted in Isas as soon as August 5. Equity transactions in Aim-quoted companies already make up nearly a third of the activity of execution-only investors, and we anticipate an upsurge of demand for Isa-wrapped Aim shares from our customers after the rule-change.
"While investors’ decisions must be on their individual circumstances and risk appetites, the move allows investors to take advantage of a wider range of stocks offering both growth prospects and value."

http://news.sky.com/story/1117137/ex-bhp-boss-urged-to-heal-gulf-keystone-rift


By By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
A former executive at BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining group, is being lined up to help break the bitter impasse between Gulf Keystone Petroleum, the London-listed oil explorer, and some of its biggest shareholders.

Sky News understands that Philip Aiken, who left BHP in 2006 after nine years running its petroleum and energy businesses, is being courted by Gulf Keystone directors in a bid to fend off reforms proposed by two major institutional investors.

Mr Aiken, a respected boardroom figure who chairs Aveva Group, the engineering data company, and sits on the board of National Grid, is understood to have been offered a role as a non-executive director at the Kurdistan-focused oil company.

As a non-executive director of Kazakhmys, the Kazakh mining company, Mr Aiken is accustomed to working with companies which have had governance concerns raised against them by independent shareholders........

Cooling it

It would be advisable for Gulf Keystone to reach a rapprochement swiftly with investors who have justifiable concerns over corporate governance standards at the oil exploration company.

Some of these featured in the widely-circulated “boiling frog email” penned by Richard Sneller, a Baillie Gifford fund manager. Here, he compared shareholders in Gulf Keystone to a frog that fails to hop out of a pan of boiling water because it cannot work out that its environment is becoming progressively more hostile.

The email, seen by Lombard, raises questions about financing, share awards to staff and the pace of oil production at wells in Kurdistan.

Baillie Gifford dumped its 2 per cent stake. But M&G has clung on, calling a vote to appoint four new independent directors. They include Jeremy Asher, an industry figure who left the board in 2010 after he objected to steep executive pay.

Chief executive Todd Kozel has strongly opposed Mr Asher’s reappointment. But with the result of the shareholder vote due to be announced next week, newly-appointed chairman Simon Murray will hopefully prove more statesmanly.

One solution would be for the board to endorse the M&G four and M&G to support a pair of independents put up by the board. The spat might then be ended to the credit of Mr Murray and M&G without a poached amphibian in sight.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/74694ccc-efb2-11e2-a237-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2ZSZMx6Vh

http://news.sky.com/story/1117854/gulf-keystone-close-to-ending-shareholder-row


Email

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The London-listed oil explorer Gulf Keystone Petroleum is on the brink of resolving a row with some of its leading shareholders with a deal that would avert a revolt against its new chairman.

Sky News understands Gulf Keystone is poised to announce that it will accept the nominations of four new independent directors to its board following a row over their credibility with investors led by M&G, the fund management arm of Prudential.

The quartet will include Jeremy Asher, a former director of the company, who quit the board several years ago after falling out with Todd Kozel, the chief executive.

Gulf Keystone recently labelled Mr Asher "a disruptive influence" and cast doubt on his professional credentials.

Under the proposed agreement, Gulf Keystone will also appoint at least two of its own candidates to join the board, including Philip Aiken, a former head of BHP Billiton's energy operations.

In return, the reform-minded shareholders, which also include Capital Research Global Investors, would agree to support the election of Simon Murray as Gulf Keystone's chairman, and the continued chairmanship of board committees by other directors.

The current chairman of the remuneration committee, Mehdi Varzi, and Ali al Qabandi, another non-executive director, would step down from the board, insiders said.

People close to the talks cautioned that the volatile nature of discussions in recent weeks between Gulf Keystone and its shareholders meant it was possible that the proposed deal could still fall apart.

If it does get signed off by the Gulf Keystone board, it would represent a welcome compromise for both sides in the wake of one of the ugliest corporate governance disputes at a major public company for some time.

Friday is the final day on which investors can submit votes for the annual meeting, which takes place in Bermuda later this month.

The rebel shareholders have been supported by a group of Malaysian investors and are confident that they will have sufficient backing to secure the election of their nominees.

Investors have long been unhappy with governance and pay at Gulf Keystone, which specialises in exploring for oil in Kurdistan but which has seen its share price fall sharply during the last year.

Mr Kozel has been a divisive figure at the helm of the company. People familiar with the situation said that his ex-wife, Ashley, was likely to use her roughly 17 million shares to vote against the company at the AGM.

Gulf Keystone has been one of the most controversially-governed companies on London's junior AIM market and scrutiny by shareholders has been intensified by the apparent intention to move its listing to the main market.

Mr Kozel's £8.8m award for 2012 actually represented a sharp decline on his pay in the previous year, which topped $22.2m (£14.4m).

Mr Kozel has sought to defend his remuneration by arguing that Gulf Keystone has delivered more than £1bn of value to shareholders and a return of more than 4,000% since the company's listing.

An ally of his said recently that the chairman's pay reflected an "overall balanced mix of remuneration and reflects exceptional performance for the year and confidence in future cash flows".

However, Gulf Keystone's shares have fallen sharply from highs triggered by takeover speculation, while it has also been embroiled in legal action brought by a former adviser which has claimed it is owed roughly £1bn in compensation.

Gulf Keystone declined to comment.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"NO DENIAL"?

Just another source.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/gulf-keystone-close-ending-shareholder-row-094659511.html#M3of5Mi

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/business/Industry/article1290480.ece

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jul/21/arms-chips-not-down-share-price

http://www.gulfkeystone.com/uploads/gulfkeystone-statementonagreementwithmg-21july2013.pdf
--------------------------------------------------------------------


Messrs Ali Al-Qabandi and Mehdi Varzi have informed the Board that they wish to withdraw their consent to be considered for re-election as directors of the Company and will, therefore, retire by rotation with effect from the close of the forthcoming AGM. The Board would like to thank Mr Ali Al-Qabandi, the co-founder of the Company, and Mr Mehdi Varzi, a long-standing Non-Executive Director, for the invaluable guidance and service to Gulf Keystone as it has grown from a small exploration business into a multi-billion dollar company on the cusp of significant production in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The Company wishes them well in their future endeavours.

Reuters update FYI


http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/21/gulfkeystone-directors-idUSL6N0FR09H20130721



Gulf Keystone moves to end spat with shareholders


LONDON, July 21 | Sun Jul 21, 2013 7:25am EDT
(Reuters) - Oil exploration company Gulf Keystone Petroleum has withdrawn its opposition to four directors proposed by shareholder M&G Recovery Fund, ending a row with its biggest investors over corporate governance.

Gulf Keystone said in a statement late on Saturday that it had reached a "constructive agreement" with shareholders regarding the shape of its board.

Meanwhile, M&G Recovery Fund, holding 5.1 percent of the company, and Capital Research Global Investors, with 5.6 percent, will back the appointment of former Glencore chairman Simon Murray as non-executive chairman, the firm said.

"I am pleased that unity of purpose has been restored," Murray said. "... We can now return our focus to the important objective of creating value for all shareholders and continue to deliver operational success."

Gulf Keystone, which is focused on oil fields in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, this month appointed Murray to head the board, splitting the chairman and chief executive roles to improve governance.

M&G, the fund management division of insurer Prudential , had proposed candidates Philip Dimmock, John Bell, Thomas Shull and Jeremy Asher after criticising governance and "excessive" executive pay at the company.

Gulf Keystone said its board would recommend that shareholders vote against M&G's choices, arguing that they lacked a "consistent track record of successful operation and commercial experience".

The firm has been beset by difficulties, including Kurdistan's long-running dispute with the central government of Iraq over payments for oil, and a legal challenge to the ownership of the company's oil fields.

assuming the court case is successfully resolved (from GKP's point of view!), then with the strengthening of the board with TK's greed being brought under control, i would be quite surprised if GKP were to remain independent for long

Uncinfirmed but if so would allow real progress in the O&G Law,a real thorn inthe side preventing progress,which has held back the development of Iraq and so the improvement to the ordinary persons standard of living? imho



2013-07-20





The future of Iraq / special A source close to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that the Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani has decided to resign from his position, stressing that evacuate his place in the Eid al-Fitr. Noted the source, who declined to be identified, that the resignation of al-Shahristani has in accordance with the Prime Minister, pointing out that the latter before resigning orally prior to submission. confirmed that al-Maliki would accept the resignation, and will end Shahristani services in the Eid al-Fitr.

http://nenosplace.forumotion.com/n10945-shahristani-resign-maliki-accepted

Big move today I see : - GKP up 2.8% to 177.75

So all those people who claimed Corporate Governance was the reason for our undervaluation, were, as some of us knew, telling porkies.

Clearly we are range bound until the Court Case judgement is in and a settling of "Ownership" is finalised.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2013/jul/22/gulf-keystone-boardroom-non-executive-directors?CMP=twt_fd

omce - it is certainly an issue of significance whatever you may think - or not, as the case may be

It's irrelevant to why the share price is so low. And is merely a smokescreen for the real reason M&G made it's move. You recall they said it was all about Corporate Governance right?

It's all about the Court Case - without clear title there'll be no bid premium for starters as no major will contemplate a bid until ownership is determined. It's really that simple.

i can't work out whether you're total lack of logical process and sequence is a result of over-indulgence or innate

If you don't think the question of ownership is by far the most important concern then you're the one who's reasoning is in question.

As to the rest of your diatribe, not worth replying to particularly as it doesn't make sense other than you're attempting to be rude without obviously being so.

Ask any CFO which is going to have a more significant impact on the share price - his CEO's $20m bonus or potentially losing a large chunk of his company (decline in asset value!!!) and you'll get the same answer every time.

quite so, but M&G's move is/was no smokescreen or a disguise of their "real reason" as you stated through some nonsense reasoning(??)

If you think M&G's move was motivated by Corporate Governance issues then please explain why -

They were threatening to vote against Simon Murray - the "Independently selected" chairman if they didn't get their way.

They want better Corporate Governance by railroading "Corporate Governance" best practices

Clearly CG was a smokescreen for the real reason.....Rather logical and well reasoned. If you know anything about Corporate governance!!!!

the "real reason" being?