On 3rd July PFC announced that it was trading well ahead of expectations. Not surprisingly, sp jumped but has now fallen back pretty much to the same level as before the announcement.

While perhaps not as exciting as finding the next Cairn, remember that in the goldrush days, it was rarely the prospectors who made the money, but rather the suppliers of the spades and tents and stuff - e.g. Levis if memory serves me aright.

Tory donor questioned by SFO over corruption claims at Petrofac

Friday 12 May 2017 17.47 BST Last modified on Friday 12 May 2017 20.16 BST
The Serious Fraud Office has launched an investigation into a company run by a major Conservative donor who is one of the prime minister’s business ambassadors.

Petrofac, which provides services to the oil and gas industry, is being investigated by the SFO over suspected bribery, corruption and money laundering.

Its chief executive, Ayman Asfari, and his wife have given the Tories more than £700,000 since 2009, with the party receiving £40,000 last December. The Syrian-born businessman has been questioned under caution by the SFO, along with another member of Petrofac’s senior management team.

Asfari is a member of the leader’s group, an elite set of donors who give the Conservative party at least £50,000 a year and are invited to join the prime minister and other senior Tories at dinners. As a business ambassador, Asfari can carry out meetings on behalf of the British government while travelling overseas and also lead trade missions.

According to the government’s website, he is entitled to hold one-to-one meetings with senior government ministers and host “high-level incoming visitors”. There are 44 business ambassadors, including Douglas Flint, the chairman of HSBC, and Natalie Massenet, the founder of fashion retailer Net-a-Porter.

The investigation is part of the SFO’s inquiry into Unaoil, a Monaco-based firm that has been accused of corruptly securing contracts for multinationals. Unaoil has denied any wrongdoing.

Petrofac employed Unaoil for consultancy work in Kazakhstan between 2002 and 2009. Unaoil was also hired to work in various parts of the world by the British engineering company Rolls-Royce, which recently admitted corruption and bribery after an SFO investigation.

A spokesman for Petrofac said the company had been notified by the SFO that the investigation had begun, adding: “The company is cooperating with the authorities.”

Petrofac had previously brought in lawyers and auditors to examine its links to Unaoil. After investigations by law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and accountants KPMG last summer, Petrofac said “no evidence was found that any director of the company was aware of the alleged misconduct”. It then shared its findings with the SFO.

An SFO spokesman confirmed it was investigating “the activities of Petrofac PLC, its subsidiaries, and their officers, employees and agents for suspected bribery, corruption and money laundering”.

Petrofac has 31 offices around the world and 13,500 staff, and operates in countries including Algeria, Iraq and Abu Dhabi. Asfari joined the company in 1991 and bought it out 10 years later, becoming chief executive in 2002. The chief operating officer, Marwan Chedid, has also been interviewed under caution by SFO investigators.

According to its website, Petrofac is focused on Africa and the Middle East. Most of its clients are national oil companies, including Saudi Aramco.

Last year, the company’s revenues were $7.9bn (£6.1bn). Petrofac’s share price fell around 15% after the SFO announced its investigation. Forbes magazine has calculated Asfari’s worth to be about $970m.

A Conservative party spokesman said: “All donations to the Conservative party are properly and transparently declared to the Electoral Commission, published by them, and comply fully with the law.”

This doesn't look good for PFC at the moment, and it's news to me that...

"Ayman Asfari, and his wife have given the Tories more than £700,000 since 2009, with the party receiving £40,000 last December. The Syrian-born businessman has been questioned under caution by the SFO, along with another member of Petrofac’s senior management team."

Edit: SP down on that news today over 15% so far!

This company is very corrupted... SELL.

Down over 22% this morning.. grim for holders at the mo.

That's what money laundering does to a company.

Correction....that's what getting caught money laundering does to a company.

I can think of a number of other high profile Co's which have come under scrutiny and survived.

Morgan Stanley comment:
We believe the market will take this negatively, as the COO has been at the company since 1992 and we consider him a fundamental component of the E&C franchise. We are concerned that his departure may have a knock-on effect on Petrofac's operational oversight and ability to secure new work.

Management changes due to the investigation were a risk, but one we did not expect to materialise so quickly. We reiterate our Underweight rating and expect this issue to continue to overhang the stock, leading to underperformance.

..Been down 33% now.

Certainly won't be surprised if it goes to 300p tomorrow.

Alf your not still in these are you?

hi stan .... fortunately i took my hit a couple of weeks ago as PFC was not showing any signs of recovery

B good job in the event.

Down another 4%.. shorters must be doing nicely on this one.

Credit Suisse today downgrades its investment rating on Petrofac Ltd (LON:PFC) to neutral (from outperform) and cut its price target to 425p (from 1125p).

Sharp downgrade... sp will continue to drop until result of SFO investigation is out.

To complete investors’ misery, Petrofac reported that the findings of its internal investigation – which concluded there was no evidence of payment of bribes – had not been accepted by the SFO. Cue a further 30% plunge in the share price. It has now halved in a fortnight.

Aside from the direct uncertainty around the SFO’s investigation, Petrofac’s day-to-day operations will be hampered by Chedid’s absence. He is righthand man to Ayman Asfari, Petrofac’s chief executive, 18% shareholder and driving force since the 1990s. And, to put it mildly, replenishing the order-book will not be made any easier by the shadow of the SFO inquiry.

Could the board have handled the crisis differently? In theory, it could also have suspended Asfari, who, like Chedid, was arrested, questioned under caution by the SFO and released without charge a fortnight ago. Two senior suspensions might have satisfied the SFO’s definition of full cooperation during an investigation.

But one can see why the board rejected that option. Asfari, with his network of contacts in the Middle East plus a role as a UK trade ambassador, is the public face of Petrofac and the man who makes the company tick. The danger of corporate meltdown would have felt real. Removing Asfari from all matters related to the SFO investigation was probably the best pragmatic fudge.

Yet, if the length of SFO investigations initially sounded helpful for Petrofac’s ability to operate normally, the logic has been turned on its head. Chedid is suspended until further notice and Asfari must try to bring in more contracts in near-impossible circumstances.

Looking forward to Tuesday's opening.

30 May 2017

REVOLVING CREDIT FACILITY EXTENDED

Petrofac and its lenders have agreed to extend US$1.0 billion of its US$1.2 billion revolving credit facility from 2 June 2020 to 2 June 2021, following an extension request issued by Petrofac on 2 May 2017. The remaining US$200 million will mature on 2 June 2020.


A good show of support from the banks.

NTMS Investments Limited go below 5%... selling 2 million shares to be exact!

I think it will fall further...much further.

Is PFC reaching the point of bounce @ 353p?
the 5 days chart is showing a bit of steadiness today, on reaching the same price of 5 days ago, though the order book is weak on the bid side
DEPTH
89 v 108