Zenith CEO Cattaneo Defiant After Share Price Collapse: All-In on $503M ICSID Claim

In an exclusive interview with Investornytt, Zenith Energy CEO Andrea Cattaneo addresses the ICC-2 arbitration setback that rocked investor confidence and triggered an 80% collapse in the company’s share price. While blasting the six-page ruling as a procedural failure, Cattaneo insists Zenith is fully funded — and firmly committed to pursuing its $503 million ICSID claim, in spite of the legal process now stretching into 2026.

Regarding the legal proceedings scheduled for Q2 2026, can you confirm that Zenith Energy does not require any additional capital to pursue and sustain this case through to a final resolution?

Andrea Cattaneo: As of today, we do not foresee the need to raise additional capital to carry the ICC 2 and ICSID arbitration through to their final decisions. We completed equity issues in the UK and Norway in May2025, and these funds were earmarked for building a 20MWp solar portfolio and supporting our ongoing business development.

Moreover, our Italian assets generate stable cash flow, which supports both our arbitration processes and our operational requirements.

We therefore have both operational cash and previously raised funding to finance the arbitration proceedings without requiring further equity issues.

Only in case of an important acquisition in the solar photovoltaic part of our business we may make recourse to the equity market, while our preference will be to make recourse to specialized lending, which is available to the solar park operators.

Cattaneo Slams ICC-2 Ruling, Files for Annulment in Switzerland

How do you interpret the recent court ruling, and what implications do you believe it has for Zenith’s position going forward?

AC: The arbitral tribunal of ICC-2 dismissed all CNAOG’s claims with an unusually short sentence.

As communicated to the market, our legal team believe serious procedural irregularities occurred. Under ICC rules, an award may be annulled on such grounds.

The Company is proceeding with an application for annulment of the ICC-2 award in front of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court in Lausanne, Switzerland.
We are outraged that the reasoning in the ICC-2 award was only six pages long. Yet, we view this accident as only one step in the process of the three arbitrations.

The arbitration world is serious, and we rely on the progress of the various court proceedings in Lausanne and in Washington. It strengthens our resolve to pursue the much larger claim in the ongoing ICSID arbitration in Washington, with claims worth USD503million so far and final written submissions due in September 2025 and hearings scheduled for April 2026.

We are also enforcing the ICC-1 award of about USD10million. We remain fully committed and confident in the merits and strength of our recourse to 3 arbitration proceedings. It is only incredibly sad that this accident in ICC-2 occurred.

The share price has fallen by almost 80 % in a relatively short period. What is your assessment of why this has happened, and how do you respond to shareholders concerned about this drop?

AC: For a prolonged period, our share price traded steadily around 2 to 2,40NOK per share, reflecting a market that recognised the potential value of our legal claims and asset base. However, markets today react sharply to news that introduces uncertainty.

When the ICC-2 decision was announced the market responded with significant selling pressure. It is important to stress that the real value lies in the ICSID case, which is by far the largest of the arbitrations.

We believe the market will soon re-evaluate the company. In the meantime, we continue to execute on our strategy and build value through our operating assets and a strong pipeline of potential acquisitions in solar energy.

Skin in the Game

Have you personally continued to buy Zenith shares at current levels, and if so, does this reflect your confidence in the company’s future trajectory?

AC: I have continued to invest in the company since long ago. My last investments have been in the last 10 days and for more important sums in the fall of 2024 and the spring of 2025.

Along with me other directors of the company did the same from October 2024 before the award of the ICC-1. This shall demonstrate our attachment and great confidence in the company’s future.

Due to regulatory restrictions, there are only certain windows during which we directors are allowed to purchase shares in the open market; July 25, 2025, fell within such a window, and I bought 546830 shares at 0.0418GBP per share, increasing my total holding to 10.21 % of the outstanding shares. These purchases are not speculative; they reflect my conviction in the company’s long-term strategy and the value of our legal claims and operating assets, and they are made whenever regulations permit.

Solar Expansion Continues as Legal Battle Unfolds

The latest press release mentions strategic developments – can you elaborate on the company’s strategy and how these moves align with Zenith’s long-term goals?

AC: The latest announcement detailed our acquisition of a 3 MWp ready-to-build solar project in Puglia through our Italian subsidiary, WESOLAR S.R.L. This project complements our existing agrivoltaics project in Piedmont (7 MWp) and the producing 0.2 MWp plant in Liguria, giving us a solar portfolio of around 10 MWp.

Our goal remains to develop at least 20 MWp of solar capacity by the end of 2025, and we have multiple larger acquisitions under review that could allow us to exceed that target.

We see solar power to secure long-term, sustainable revenue, and we intend to finance this growth with favourable bank lending rather than excessive equity issuance. Permitting is a complicated aspect of building a solar portfolio and we are developing internal and third-party expertise to progress fast enough, but without making some false steps.

With the legal case timeline stretching into 2026, how does Zenith plan to maintain operational momentum and investor confidence in the meantime?

AC: The ICSID case is in the most important preparatory period. The hearing in April 2026 is only the end of a deep, serious, and very time-consuming activity of preparation and correspondence with the Court that we are processing presently.

I say this so the investors can become aware of the enormous amount of preparation behind any arbitration case, especially behind an ICSID one.

In addition, another important milestone will be the filing of the application of the annulment of ICC-2 in Lausanne.

In parallel, our management works to find the best new components for our solar park portfolio, quickly but with great legal and economic verifications.

Indeed, we have communicated in the past that after severe due diligence, one asset under acquisition has been cancelled without any costs.

This severe, but relentless acquisition process is only second in the use of our human resources to the ICSID and ICC-2 proceedings.

Italian gas and electricity assets continue to generate solid cash flows, and we expect the energy prices to at least continue at these levels during the winter. We are very satisfied with the operational performances in Italy, and we will continue to pursue opportunities in Italy. These revenues provide a stable base while we develop our solar portfolio and pursue new acquisitions.

Zenith Energy Focused on Cash Flow and Investor Patience

Can you clarify whether the company is actively seeking or in need of any external financing, either for the legal case or operational purposes, over the next 12-18 months?

AC: We do not anticipate raising new equity or debt for the arbitrations. The capital we have secured is sufficient for our legal costs. Should attractive solar acquisitions arise, we will consider specialised bank financing or other low-dilution structures. Our objective is to reduce reliance on equity funding and strengthen the balance sheet through recurring cash flows from operating projects.

Sales of some non-core assets in our portfolio are equally pursued to ease the requirements for our aggressive expansion.

Now and then some of the quantity of warrants in circulation are exercised, as it just happened. These instruments were offered to the investors when we were in a different stage of our life, before winning ICC-1, and we should be thankful to the investment received at that time.

What message would you like to send directly to long-term shareholders who are concerned about dilution, legal uncertainties, and the recent share price performance?

AC: I share your concerns about dilution, market volatility and legal uncertainty. We have had to raise funds to support growth and legal costs, but those steps were necessary to move Zenith forward. We are building a portfolio of solar energy, which I can vouch is making surprisingly quick progress. I hold over 10 % of the company and my fellow directors have significant number of shares as well.

Victory in the ICSID with claims of more than 500 million USD remains our important and forthcoming target.

We will continue to act in the best interests of all shareholders.

Patience is crucial in this environment, and we shall consider the ICC 2 verdict as a bad accident.

Our resilience as a team, shown in these circumstances, and the forthcoming developments keep me very optimistic about our long-term trajectory.