Cantillon: Tough job ahead for McAteer at Petroceltic

The appointment of Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton as interim examiner to troubled Petroceltic International must be the first thing that the company and Worldview Capital, its biggest shareholder and critic, have agreed upon in more than a year.

McAteer, a veteran of several high-profile restructurings such as the old Eircom business (since rebranded as Eir) will aim to formulate a rescue plan within the next three months, or perhaps even sooner.

He was proposed as examiner last week by Worldview, a 29 per cent shareholder, in a move that caught Petroceltic’s management off guard. McAteer was not actually appointed last week, however, and it looked as if he wouldn’t formally take the reins until an April 4th hearing.

Perhaps sensing that the expedition of McAteer's appointment might actually help bring some order to the situation, Petroceltic then stepped in to ask the High Court on Tuesday to formally appoint him immediately. Worldview – praise the lord – "consented" to the board's request.

The seemingly interminable squabble between the company and Worldview over strategy and the future of its assets has dogged Petroceltic at a time when its management should have been otherwise engaged in dealing with the havoc that has been wreaked across the sector due to the collapse in the price of oil.

Petroceltic is unable to repay $230 million of debts, and has survived for months on waivers from its banks while the board seeks a rescue plan in the face of a barrage of criticism from Worldview, which recently launched its own doomed cut-price takeover bid.

It is now McAteer’s responsibility to find a rescue plan. The end game is in sight.

Worldview's recent £6.42 million takeover approach undervalued the company, according to chairman Robert Adair. He now may be forced to put his money where his mouth is in order to protect his investment. Adair owns a fifth of the company, so might he now be tempted to launch a buyout bid of his own?

The examinership process is also supposed to give weight to the protection of Irish jobs when assessing any potential rescue plans.

Yet Petroceltic employs fewer than 20 people at its office here. Most of its employees are in Algeria and Egypt. If a successful examinership is concluded, Petroceltic will most likely emerge as a private company with no Irish listing and no assets. What Irish jobs will there be left to protect?

All of these matters will now have to be assessed by McAteer. He will also have to deal with the hitherto warring parties.

Hopefully, he owns a tin hat, and a peacekeeper’s flak jacket.

Best of luck, old boy.