Poor start for Genel
FORMER BP chief executive Tony Hayward and financier Nat Rothschild yesterday saw shares in their bid vehicle fall sharply after it resumed trading under the name Genel Energy following a $2billion (£1.3billion) takeover of the Kurdistan-focused oil group.
The stock fell 83p to 912p amid a broader sell-off of riskier assets in the wake of rising fears over the eurozone, Iran’s nuclear programme and concerns over corporate governance.
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Buying Genel marks Hayward’s comeback after he left BP following the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster but the deal has been criticised for giving Genel’s major shareholders a fast-track route to a London Stock Exchange listing.
One of them, Mehmet Sepil, has been fined £1million for insider dealing by the City watchdog.
BP chief executive Tony Hayward saw shares in their bid vehicle fall sharply
Another, Mehmet Emin Karamehmet, is appealing against an 11-year jail sentence in Turkey for embezzlement. The two own about half of Genel.
However analysts like the fact Hayward was able to buy oil assets at a relatively cheap price and his plans for further acquisitions in the region, which covers the border between Turkey and northern Iraq.
