Victory for activist investor as Capricorn directors resign en masse

Directors at Capricorn Energy all resigned yesterday in a victory for an activist shareholder.

Seven board members, including chief executive Simon Thomson and chairman Nicoletta Giadrossi, have agreed to step down from the oil and gas group.

Both will leave the board immediately alongside three other directors Peter Kallos, Alison Wood, Luis Araujo.

Chief financial officer James Smith will step down at a later date alongside non-executive director Keith Lough.

The exodus follows weeks of pressure on Capricorns management regarding controversial plans to merge with Israeli rival NewMed Energy.

Palliser Capital, the companys third largest investor with a stake of around 6.9 per cent, has been spearheading a campaign to scrap the plan and called a vote to remove seven directors.

The activist wanted to replace Capricorns executives with its own nominees, which included Chris Cox, the former head of Spirit Energy, and Hesham Mekawi, who previously worked as head of BPs North African operations.