Sunday: SemGroup co-founder Tom Kivisto speaks out
BY ROD WALTON World Staff Writer
Saturday, July 21, 2012
SemGroup LP co-founder and former CEO Tom Kivisto came out swinging during his first interview in four years about the firm’s rise and fall and rebirth.
Kivisto, in a response to a series of emailed questions supplied by the Tulsa World, said that time and investigation has proved his oil futures trading strategy was not “short” and did not bankrupt the firm by itself.
Instead, Kivisto said, SemGroup was partially a victim of the impending banking crisis, not the least of which was creditor Bank of America’s own troubles.
He contended that creditors and bankruptcy handlers wanted to liquidate the company’s assets until New York billionaire John Catsimatidis made an unsuccessful attempt to buy SemGroup in 2009.
Kivisto expressed admiration for the way the leaders of what is now SemGroup Corp. have handled the road out of bankruptcy. He criticized bankruptcy examiner Louis Freeh’s report and the Tulsa World for “sensationalistic” coverage based on false premises about the company’s downfall.
For the first interview with Tom Kivisto since 2008, read Sunday's Tulsa World.
Associated Images:
Tom Kivisto, co-founder of SemGroup LP, said his oil futures strategy was not "short" and did not bankrupt the firm by itself. He is shown in a 2008 photo. Tulsa World file
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