Fidelity funds among suitors against Numis

LONDON – Three Fidelity Investments funds are among the six investment funds that sued a Numis Corp. unit for not disclosing a lawsuit against Rock Well Petroleum Inc. before accepting more than $95 million in investments on behalf of the oil driller last week.
Bloomberg News reported Numis Securities Ltd. persuaded the funds to buy into Rock Well’s private share placement in 2007. The Calgary-based oil company was seeking to raise $150 million and then conduct an initial public offering within a year to allow the funds to sell their shares at a profit, according to the lawsuit, filed this month in London.
The IPO was abandoned after Numis, a London-based investment banking and brokerage firm, disclosed that Rock Well faced an intellectual-property lawsuit by Omega Oil Company Inc.
Rock Well wasn’t able to procure financing after the failed IPO and filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada.
Numis said it will defend itself against the suit. •