Ascent Resources PLC Completion of Damages Claim Funding (1600N)
30 May 2022 - 04:01PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMAST
RNS Number : 1600N
Ascent Resources PLC
30 May 2022
30 May 2022
Ascent Resources plc
("Ascent" or the "Company")
Completion of "No win No fee" Damages Claim Funding
Ascent Resources Plc (LON: AST), the onshore Caribbean, Hispanic
American and European focussed energy and natural resources
company, is delighted to announce its official entry into a binding
damages-based agreement - essentially a "no win no fee" funding
arrangement - to appoint Enyo Law LLP ("Enyo") to pursue the
Company's Energy Charter Treaty ("ECT") and UK-Slovenia Bilateral
Investment Treaty ("BIT") arbitration claim against the Republic of
Slovenia.
Enyo - the specialist arbitration and litigation legal firm who
filed both of the Notice of Disputes on behalf of the Company and
represented it in last year's pre-arbitration negotiations with the
Republic of Slovenia - will be advancing the disbursements which
are expected to be incurred in the pursuit of the claim and will
only be paid out of a portion of the proceeds of the arbitration in
the event of a successful damages award or execution of a binding
settlement agreement (if achieved sooner).
The closing of this funding allows the Company to securely
initiate the arbitration proceedings against the Republic of
Slovenia in relation to the significant damages by the Company's
Slovenian investment as a result of Slovenia's breaches of the
protections established by the ECT and BIT, i ncluding, inter alia
the prohibition of expropriation, the guarantee that the
investments would be accorded fair and equitable treatment and
Slovenia's guarantee that the management, maintenance, use,
enjoyment or disposal of the investments would not be impaired by
arbitrary, unreasonable or discriminatory measures.
Notwithstanding the size of the Company's damages, in its view,
having increased (for reasons including the increased gas price and
the consequences of the recent legislative changes in Slovenia) and
remaining significantly in excess of a hundred million Euros, it
should be cautioned that in the event the Company is successful in
its claim any amount actually received by the Company may be
significantly lower.
Andrew Dennan, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"Today's completion of the 'no win, no fee' damages based
agreement allows the Company to immediately advance its material
damages claim against the Republic of Slovenia in an international
forum, as we seek redress for shareholders after many years of
frustration, arbitrary decision-making against the Company's
investment and delays being imposed on the project. This impact has
recently been amplified with our investment effectively being
expropriated by virtue of the new amendments to the mining law
which specifically target the destruction of our full investment
value.
We are delighted to have secured this arrangement on behalf of
our shareholders and which now positions Ascent's equity holders
with material upside exposure to a claim seeking damages of several
hundred million dollars."
Enquiries:
Ascent Resources plc Via Vigo Communications
Andrew Dennan
WH Ireland, Nominated Adviser & Broker
James Joyce / Sarah Mather 0207 220 1666
Novum Securities, Joint Broker
Jon Belliss 0207 399 9400
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