By Shadia Nasralla
LONDON, May 28 (Reuters) - Ousted BP Chairman Albert Manifold met with activist shareholder Elliott Management during his tenure without telling fellow board members directly, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
BP dismissed Manifold this week after less than eight months as chairman, sending BP's shares plunging and dealing a blow to the leadership's attempt to prove that it had steadied the ship. BP cited governance and conduct issues when it ousted Manifold.
BP hired Manifold last year to oversee its efforts to rebuild investor confidence after years of strategy and leadership changes and high debt. He replaced Helge Lund, whose shareholder support sagged before his exit.
Manifold's previously unreported meetings with Elliott come on top of complaints about bullying behaviour to both executive and lower-level staff which alarmed the board, according to sources.
A spokesperson for Manifold did not offer any formal comment on the meetings with Elliott.
Manifold's interactions with Elliott were not technically a breach of any specific rule and not the main reason for his dismissal, but were an example of acting unilaterally and not in good faith towards other board members, one of the two sources with knowledge of the matter said.
The meetings with Elliott were not hidden from the company because Manifold had informed BP's investor relations team that he met Elliott on several occasions and all shareholder interactions should have been reported to the board as part of routine investor relations updates, said one source with knowledge of the matter.
U.S. activist hedge fund Elliott disclosed last year that it had a stake of over 5% in BP and has given no public update since then on how much of the company it owns.
Elliott wanted BP to cut costs, shift focus and spending from renewable projects to oil and gas and simplify BP's organisational structure, sources have told Reuters over the past year. Manifold wanted to accelerate the revamp of BP, which implemented most of these changes in recent months.
Elliott did not reply to requests for comment on any meetings with Manifold. BP declined to comment and, when asked about the way information is supposed to flow about such meetings, referred back to earlier statements about Manifold's conduct.
"FALSE NARRATIVE"
Manifold has said his dismissal came without warning, that he disputed the characterisation of his conduct and was ready to challenge any "false narrative".
"Is it possible that in my determination to drive change on costs, performance, the balance sheet and shareholder communications, I pushed hard and challenged people directly? Yes, it is," he said in a statement on Thursday.
"What I do not accept is that lies can be told about me, nor that anyone should be allowed to hide behind anonymity when commenting on my time at BP," he added.
Manifold has hired law firm Mishcon de Reya to represent him in the aftermath of his dismissal, a source previously told Reuters on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for Manifold declined to comment on Thursday regarding what, if any, action he was planning to take against BP.
Manifold's departure is the third abrupt or forced exit of a senior BP leader in three years after ex-CEOs Bernard Looney and Murray Auchincloss, raising questions about its ability to deliver a turnaround strategy investors had only just begun to back.
Manifold had acted aggressively with different colleagues across the company making his position untenable, four sources told Reuters on Tuesday. The company has appointed Ian Tyler as interim chairman.
(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla, additional reporting by Stephanie Kelly and Sarah McFarlane; Editing by Nina Chestney, Simon Webb and Sanjeev Miglani")
