“Many small-cap resource companies are single asset companies…...

“Many small-cap resource companies are single asset companies… they are built for exploration and development,” he says. “Should these companies really evolve into producers? Our argument is 99 times out of 100, the answer is no. That’s not a slight on management, they are just incredibly different propositions.”

On that bit I agree, but CVN wasn't going to be the operator, Santos was. Assuming the funding was available, CVN would then have been free to get back to what it was (mostly) successful at, "producer" or not. In any case, the same could be said about Delroy and his fund. Should investment funds really evolve into management? My argument is 99 times out of 100, the answer is no. Nero has zero track record running energy companies and it could be argued that their replacement for AC has a questionable track record doing so as well. Nero's sole purpose is to extract a good return for their fund. That outcome may not align with the best interests of the rest of the shareholders.