Austex Oil has been suspended from trade while it negotiates a repayment owed under a deal with a shareholder.

In a trading halt request notice, the company (ASX:AOK) said it had received a Put Option notice and was in negotiations with the shareholder.

A Put Option allows a shareholder to sell a specified amount of a security at a certain price and time. (It’s the opposite of a call option, which allows a share purchase).

“The company hereby requests a voluntary suspension of trading in its securities from the ASX until such time as the negotiations with the Preference Shareholder are concluded and the company is in a position to provide all shareholders with an update on its future activities.

“The company is unable to estimate the timeframe required for such negotiations at this time.”

It’s the latest development in a string of conflicts with preference shareholders Weider & Foreman.

AusTex Oil (ASX:AOK) shares over the past year.

In its last quarterly AusTex told shareholders pending litigation from the pair was holding up a loan facility from a local bank – consequently halting drilling.

“AusTex and its subsidiaries have made two attempts to settle this litigation without success and have now filed a brief in the Southern District of New York federal court to assert counterclaims against Weider & Foreman. The Company is awaiting a ruling from the court,” it said at the time.