Mystery money behind Anzon

By PAULA OLIVER energy writer

Mystery shrouds the identity of a wealthy European family said to be backing the latest bid to revive 1980s high-flyer Anzon Investments.

A group of Australian oil and gas businessmen this week revealed plans to relist the dormant Anzon shell as Anzon Energy - an oil and gas producer.

Claiming to have the financial backing to be up and running by September, the chief executive of Anzon Energy, Steven Koroknay, has been in New Zealand for two days holding discussions with brokers.

He told the Business Herald yesterday that Anzon Energy had the financial backing of a "very high-wealth family" from Europe, but he would not say who they were.

For many, the name Anzon Investments conjures up memories of the 1987 sharemarket crash - its main shareholder was Chase Corporation, the property company that failed spectacularly in the crash.

Since then Anzon has been the target of several unsuccessful resurrection attempts. Its 3300 shareholders have been left sceptical of people wanting to revive the name, and some said yesterday that they were keen to see documentation relating to the latest offer.

Mr Koroknay said shareholders could expect documentation next week, and a meeting would be held with them on August 9. The company's financial backer would be revealed then.

It had already lined up a deal to begin production from an 8 million barrel mature oil well in Indonesia, and would not require cash from shareholders to do it, he said.

"The fundamental position is that we are offering existing shareholders a fully funded project to put into the company, where they previously had a dormant shell with nothing in it," he said. "We're not asking them to put any money in."

Despite having no obvious link to New Zealand, the company decided to pick up the Anzon shell because it was a clean shell carrying several shareholders, he said.

To meet New Zealand listing requirements, Anzon Energy will need to have two directors ordinarily resident in the country. Mr Koroknay said one of them would be Ken McNamara, a director of Anzon for four years. He claimed a verbal agreement had been reached with a well-known New Zealand businessman to fill the other vacancy.

The Business Herald understands that Mr McNamara has been working in Australia for several months.