Gulf Marine accuses Seafox of seeking to seize control

Gulf Marine Services has reported Seafox International to the Takeover Panel after the offshore jackup company tried to oust GMS's non-executive directors and replace them with its own nominees.

Seafox, which owns 29.9% of Gulf Marine, tried to buy the oil and gas work platform supplier in May but its offer was rejected. It installed two directors on GMS's board in August.

GMS said Seafox wanted Mike Turner, David Blewden, Mo Bississo and Shona Grant to step down and be replaced by Rashid Al Jarwan, Mansour Al Alami and Saeed Mer Abdulla Khoory, who are all based in the United Arab Emirates.

Seafox has said if its request is not met by 23 September it will call a general meeting to ask shareholders to vote on the changes, GMS said.

GMS said its board, excluding Seafox's representatives, had met and decided it was not in the company's interests for any directors to quit. None of the proposed replacements are known to the board, it said.

GMS has called off a proposed capital raising and has told the Takeover Panel about Seafox's proposal, which it said was an attempt to take control of the company. The company has asked Mazrui International and Horizon Group about their intentions after they voted with Seafox on a series of resolutions at the 2020 annual meeting.

"The board has written to Seafox to urge it to reconsider its proposed actions, which will give rise to a costly and value destructive exercise and significantly harm the interests of the company's other shareholders," GMS said.