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Singaporean activist calls in big guns ahead of MMA Offshore AGM

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The battle for control of MMA Offshore is expected to ramp up in coming weeks ahead of the ailing offshore oil and gas fleet services company's annual general meeting.

The ASX-listed company, formerly known as Mermaid Marine, is preparing to release a suite of materials, including a statement from dissident shareholder Halom Investments, which owns 18.1 per cent of the company.

But Street Talk can reveal that Halom isn't backing down and has had gun corporate lawyer Leon Zwier in its tent for some time, working alongside main adviser Moelis & Company's Chris Wyke.

Halom isn't backing down and has had gun corporate lawyer Leon Zwier in its tent for some time, working alongside main adviser Moelis & Company's Chris Wyke.  Louie Douvis

​As this column reported, Halom, which is controlled by industry veteran and co-founder of Miclyn Express Offshore Michael Kum, lodged an explosive letter of concerns with MMA's board in September. It was seeking to oust chairman Tony Howarth and chief executive Jeff Weber.

The letter expressed Halom's loss of faith in MMA's leadership and also raised concerns about "serious liquidity risks" and "unsustainable debt levels." Halom proposed appointing Jeffrey Mews and Haridass Ajaib as directors on the board.

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MMA Offshore will put the proposals to shareholders at the AGM, slated for the end of November, alongside a 1000-word statement from Halom, dispatched by its advisers a month ago and yet to be released to the market.

MMA's current board and management have overseen a dramatic loss of value with the company's market capitalisation languishing around $69 million from almost $900 million in early 2013.

And interest bearing liabilities amount to $324.2 million. Bankers and distressed debt types have had an eye on MMA for more than 12 months.

Deloitte Australia, Pareto Securities and Ashurst are tending to MMA.

Sarah Thompson has co-edited Street Talk since 2009, specialising in private equity, investment banking, M&A and equity capital markets stories. Prior to that, she spent 10 years in London as a markets and M&A reporter at Bloomberg and Dow Jones. Email Sarah at sarah.thompson@afr.com
Anthony Macdonald is a Chanticleer columnist. He is a former Street Talk co-editor and has 10 years' experience as a business journalist and worked at PwC, auditing and advising financial services companies. Connect with Anthony on Twitter. Email Anthony at a.macdonald@afr.com
Joyce Moullakis wrote on banking and finance, specialising in Investment Banking, Private Equity, Financial Services. Connect with Joyce on Twitter. Email Joyce at jmoullakis@afr.com.au

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