Perdana Petroleum’s former CEO to appeal against court ruling

Petra Energy Bhd's integrated brown field operation

KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Court has allowed Perdana Petroleum Bhd’s (PPB) former executive chairman and CEO Tengku Ibrahim Petra Tengku Indra Petra and two other former directors to appeal in relation to a suit filed by the company over share disposals made in 2009 when the trio were company officers.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday, the offshore marine services provider said the country's highest court had on March 1 allowed their leave applications and they would proceed with the filing of the appeal papers for case management.

To recap, PPB (then known as Petra Perdana Bhd) disposed of a 5.38% stake in Petra Energy Bhd to TA First Credit Sdn Bhd for RM16.065mil in September 2009 and a further 29.59% to Shorefield Resources Sdn Bhd for RM93.208mil in December that year. The divestment, which led to Petra Energy ceasing to be its subsidiary, was intended to pare down the group’s bank borrowings.

The divestment led to a boardroom tussle, which subsequently resulted in the ousting of Tengku Ibrahim and four other directors from Perdana Petroleum in a 13-hour EGM in February 2010.

In June 2011, PPB filed a suit in the Kuala Lumpur High Court against Tengku Ibrahim and three former directors to claim for losses and damages suffered by the company in respect of the divestment.

“The suit is based upon, inter alia, breach of fiduciary duties and/or statutory duties and/or duty of care and/or trust obligations. The company also alleges that the divestments of the shares were not bona fide and/or in the interests of the company,” PPB told Bursa Malaysia then.

In March 2014, the High Court ruled there was no evidence of wrongful dishonest conduct by the defendants. The following month PPB filed an appeal.

The Court of Appeal in August last year allowed PPB’s appeal with costs against Tengku Ibrahim and two former directors, namely Wong Fook Heng and Tiong Young Kong, and dismissed Tengku Ibrahim’s cross appeal with costs. 
 
PPB’s appeal against a fourth former director, however, was dismissed with costs.

PPB’s lawyers received the company’s lawyers had last September received the notices of motion from the lawyers of Tengku Ibrahim to apply for leave to appeal to the Federal Court against the decision of the Court of Appeal.