HOUSTON, Dec. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- American Resources,
Inc., and SK Energy LLC, the investment vehicle of Dr. Simon Kukes, one of the largest shareholders of
Ring Energy, Inc. (NYSE: REI), announced today that they are very
concerned with certain actions of the Board of Directors
of Ring Energy.
As a result of those concerns, SK Energy and American Resources
urge all shareholders to withhold votes on all members
of Ring Energy's Board of Directors in the upcoming
election.
The Ring Energy Board of Directors appears to have made a
mistake by offering employment to a CEO whose previous performance
in similar roles does not instill confidence in his ability to make
Ring Energy successful. The new CEO appears to have limited
positive corporate turnaround experience in the public oil and gas
sector as disclosed in Ring Energy's public filings, with his only
relevant turnaround experience being two failed prior turnaround
attempts including less than 2 years (April
2017 to January 2019) as
President and COO of now bankrupt Yuma Energy, Inc., and only 11
months (January 2019 to December 2019) as President and CEO of SandRidge
Energy, a period which saw its stock price tumble over 50%.
Compounding the problem, the Board appears to have agreed to a
compensation package that is far above market value for a CEO with
his lack of experience producing successful oil and gas
companies.
It also appears from public records that the CEO had a prior
relationship with some of the Board candidates listed in the proxy
distributed by Ring Energy. It is possible that such
relationship may lead to conflicts of interest between the Board
members and the shareholders.
If the Board members listed in Ring Energy's proxy are elected,
it is possible that their conflicts of interest may prevent them
from fully fulfilling their duties to shareholders.
SK Energy and American Resources have in the past pointed out
other concerns with Ring Energy.
In late October 2020, the Board of
Directors of Ring Energy priced an offering
of Ring Energy shares. Individuals who
purchased shares in this offering may have been led to believe
that Ring Energy intended to close the sale of its
Delaware Basin assets.
After the sale of Ring Energy shares in the offering
was completed, Ring Energy announced in a press release
dated October 30, 2020 that the sale
of the Delaware Basin assets was not going to happen.
Individuals who purchased stock in the offering may have lost
money because they may have purchased with the expectation of a
Delaware Basin asset sale that
never happened.
Furthermore, the decision of Ring Energy to sell
shares appears to have heavily diluted existing shareholders.
SK Energy and American Resources call upon shareholders and
proxy advisory firms to examine the deep potential conflicts of
interest that the nominees put forth by Ring Energy in the Ring
Energy proxy may have.
SK Energy and American Resources are confident that, after a
careful examination of the actions of the Ring Energy Board of
Directors, others will conclude that a withhold vote on all
directors is warranted.
About SK Energy LLC and Dr. Simon
Kukes
SK Energy LLC is an investment company owned by
Dr. Simon Kukes, a globally-renowned oil and gas industry
executive. Dr. Kukes has held various positions over the years,
including as President and CEO of Tyumen Oil Company (TNK) where he
was involved in the ~$20 billion
merger of TNK and British Petroleum to form TNK-BP in 2003, and as
CEO of Hess Corporation's Samara-Nafta subsidiary, where he was
instrumental in the subsidiary's $2.05
billion sale to Lukoil in 2013. He is also currently the
largest shareholder, CEO and director of PEDEVCO Corp., an
NYSE-listed oil and gas company active in the Permian and D-J
Basins.
About American Resources, Inc.
American Resources,
Inc. ("ARI") is a Houston, Texas
based oil and gas investment, development and operating company
focused on acquisition of underexploited, distressed and/or
undervalued oil and gas assets and companies where ARI believes its
involvement can add value. ARI strives to maximize value through
active management of assets and/or board level participation in its
corporate investments.
About Ring Energy, Inc.
Founded in 2012, Ring Energy
is a Midland, Texas-based oil
and gas exploration, development and production company with
current operations in the Permian Basin of West Texas and
is recognized as the top producing oil basin in North
America.
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SOURCE SK Energy LLC and American Resources, Inc.