North Sea-focused oil and gas development firm Bridge Petroleum is believed to have missed a deadline to wrap up its purchase of Iona Energy, which went into administration earlier this year.
Dorset-registered Bridge Petroleum is led by managing director David Williams, who has held senior roles at Schlumberger and Deloitte.
Bridge, which was incorporated earlier this year, signed a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to buy Iona from administrators in June.
And later that month, Iona’s unsecured creditors approved a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), a legally-binding agreement which lets insolvent firms draw up new debt repayment schedules and start trading again.
In an update to bondholders published in mid-August, Iona’s administrators at FTI Consulting said the SPA had been expected to go through late in July.
However, Bridge asked for more time, saying “uncertainties” had arisen in its “process to secure funding for the Orlando development” north-east of Shetland.
In the update, administrators said the deadline had been moved to August 31 to accommodate Bridge, but they warned there was a “potential risk” the SPA would fail.
It is now understood that Bridge was unable to get the deal over the line ahead of yesterday’s cut-off point.
It means administrators are likely to seek alternative buyers, or give Bridge more time to find the funds it needs.
Bridge was not immediately available for comment when contacted yesterday.
Iona held the operatorship and 75% of Orlando, which was expected to start producing oil later this year.
But Iona went into administration in January following a failed attempt to restructure its finances.
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