CALGARY, AB – (TSX: PMT) – Perpetual Energy Inc. (“Perpetual” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench (the “Court”) has summarily dismissed the balance of the Statement of Claim filed by PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. LIT (“PwC”), in its capacity as trustee in bankruptcy of Sequoia Resources Corp. (“Sequoia”) against Perpetual, Perpetual Operating Trust, Perpetual Operating Corp. (collectively the “Perpetual Entities”) and Susan Riddell Rose, the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer (“Ms. Rose”). These claims relate to a transaction that involved the sale by Perpetual of legacy shallow gas properties in October 2016 to an arm’s length third-party purchaser after an extensive and lengthy marketing, due diligence and negotiation process (the “Sequoia Disposition”).
On February 25, 2020, Perpetual filed an application to strike and summarily dismiss the claim brought under Section 96 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (the “BIA Claim”). The Court found that PwC could not establish a necessary element of the BIA Claim as Sequoia was not insolvent at the time of, nor rendered insolvent by, the Sequoia Disposition. The Court therefore concluded there is “no merit” to the BIA Claim and it was summarily dismissed.
As previously disclosed, the Court has struck or summarily dismissed all other claims by PwC against the Perpetual Entities and Ms. Rose. PwC contested the previous decision. The appeal was heard by the Court of Appeal of Alberta on December 10, 2020 and its decision is still pending.
The written reasons for the Court’s decision on the BIA Claim have been posted to the Company’s website at www.perpetualenergyinc.com or may be obtained by reviewing the public court documents that pertain to Court action number 1801-10960, as filed with the Court, Calgary Judicial Centre.
About Perpetual
Perpetual is an oil and natural gas exploration, production, and marketing company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Perpetual has a diversified asset portfolio, including liquids-rich natural gas assets in the deep basin of west-central Alberta, heavy oil and shallow natural gas in eastern Alberta, with longer-term opportunities through undeveloped oil sands leases in northern Alberta. Additional information on Perpetual can be accessed at www.sedar.com or from the Corporation’s website at www.perpetualenergyinc.com.
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