Oil producer Obsidian Energy hits back at activist FrontFour Capital

Canadian oil sands producer Obsidian Energy Ltd said on Wednesday it could not add major shareholder FrontFour Capital's candidate to its board, despite "extensive" negotiations.

Obsidian's response came after FrontFour, the producer's second-biggest shareholder with a 5.7 percent stake, said it had tried over the last three months to come to an agreement with Obsidian over the addition of one mutually agreed upon independent nominee.

"We have been unable to come to an agreement that would avoid a needlessly costly and distracting proxy fight," said FrontFour in a statement.

FrontFour believes that a significant overhaul of Obsidian is necessary, including the streamlining of its assets through sales.

(Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)