A bankruptcy filing shows that Houston-based Davis Petroleum Corp. was forced to file a Chapter 11 petition in Texas this week because Nancy Davis, a daughter of famed oilman Marvin Davis, declined to support the sale of the company.
Without unanimous consent of the Davis family shareholders to sell the company, Davis Petroleum filed for reorganization because bankruptcy laws allow the sale of the company with approval from two-thirds of the family-owned shares.
As a result, three private-equity investors intend to purchase the company for $150 million, pending bankruptcy-court approval.
Another of Davis’ daughters, Patricia Davis Raynes, voted to sell the company. Separately, she has filed suit against her family members, claiming she was cheated out of hundreds of millions of dollars from her trust fund.