Aberdeen oil boss Bob Kidd loses £150m lawsuit

bob kidd lawsuit — Bob Kidd founded ITS Tubular Services, which went into administration in 2013.

Aberdeen oil boss Bob Kidd has lost a £150 million fraud case he brought against American business partners and their law firm.

Mr Kidd took action against Ledingham Chalmers and private equity house Lime Rock Partners over a business deal involving ITS Tubular Services, which he founded in 1989.

The firm was later placed in administration, with the collapse in the value of Mr Kidd’s shares – which he aimed to recover.

Mr Kidd lost an initial action against Lime Rock and Ledingham Chalmers back in 2021, then seeking around £158m.

The case was brought over an alleged conflict of interest from the law firm over the sale of his 34.5% stake in 2009 to Lime Rock.

Mr Kidd appealed the initial ruling, and the matter was heard over five weeks at the Court of Session in Edinburgh in November and December, with the decision going against Mr Kidd.

Fraud allegations

The legal dispute centred on a series of events relating to ITS Tubular Services, a North Sea drilling firm which Mr Kidd founded with $5,000 in savings in 1989.

The Aberdeen-based business experienced huge growth, and was worth $200million, employing 1,000 people, by 2008.

Mr Kidd got a $10million payment for the sale of part of his stake (34.5%) in 2009.

However, by 2012, ITS had entered financial difficulties and heavy debt, partly due to operations overseas, and Lime Rock was seeking to sell its exposure to the business.

ITS was acquired in 2013 after it went into administration.

Mr Kidd argued Lime Rock’s involvement led to ITS being placed into administration, and the collapse in the value of his shares.

He said in 2021 that he would have otherwise achieved an exit of “about $220m”.

ITS Tubular Services was later sold in a pre-pack deal to US firm Parker Drilling.

Mr Kidd launched an initial $210m lawsuit against another law firm in 2015, which he settled for close to £20m.

He then subsequently brought another claim against Ledingham Chalmers and Lime Rock Partners, which after a series of decisions and appeals reached the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

If successful, the final payment to Mr Kidd could have reached as high as £350 million once interest of eight per cent a year was added.

Case dismissed

However in a decision published on Friday, Court of Session judge Lord Tyre dismissed Mr Kidd’s claims.

Lord Tyre said Mr Kidd “retains a strong and entirely understandable grievance” that the business he founded and built up had failed, but added he “did not find him to be an
impressive witness”.

“Throughout his evidence he professed himself unable to remember matters which I would have expected him to remember, and denied the occurrence of events which were clearly vouched by contemporaneous documents,” Lord Tyre said.

“I do not go so far as to find that he was intentionally untruthful; I would characterise his attitude rather as a disinclination properly to engage with a court process in which his perception of the Lime Rock transaction and the subsequent failure of ITS was subjected to rigorous challenge.”

Lord Tyre found the actions of Mr Kidd’s lawyers and Lime Rock Partners did not amount to conspiracy, fraud or dishonest assistance.

“Put shortly, there was no fraud and therefore no use of unlawful means,” Lord Tyre said.

Following the decision, a spokesperson for Mr Kidd told the Daily Record: “Bob is astonished by and disappointed with the decision and is now in discussion with his legal team regarding an appeal.“