DUBLIN (Reuters) - Oil producer Petroceltic's (I:PCI) (L:PCI) largest shareholder Worldview Capital Management said on Friday it may make a cash offer to buy out the remaining shares in the Irish company.
Petroceltic's London-listed shares rose 30 percent to 17 pence after the announcement. They had fallen from 2.21 pounds ($3.15) in October 2014 in the wake of a collapse in global oil prices.
Worldview, a private investment management firm incorporated in the Cayman Islands, owns 29.6 percent of Petroceltic and has been engaged in a boardroom battle with the oil company's management for over a year.
It failed in an attempt to oust Chief Executive Brian O'Cathain from the board in January 2015, citing corporate governance issues.
Petroceltic, an oil and gas exploration and production company which operates in Algeria, Egypt, the Black Sea and the Kurdistan region of Iraq, said in December it had hired bankers to conduct a strategic review, including a possible sale.
In January, Petroceltic said it had received a waiver of repayments under its senior bank facility until Jan. 29.
Worldview said on Friday it was "in the process of evaluating and preparing for a possible, all cash, offer" for Petroceltic's remaining share capital, but said there was no certainty an offer would be forthcoming.