Deutsche Confirms Noble Bond Bid -- WSJ
August 20 2018 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Manju Dalal and Saurabh Chaturvedi
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (August 20, 2018).
Deutsche Bank said Saturday that it is acting on its own to buy
bonds of Noble Group Ltd., days before a crucial shareholder vote
on a $3.5 billion restructuring of the Singapore-listed commodity
trader.
The confirmation comes a day after The Wall Street Journal r
eported the bank's unexpected offer to buy the bonds. It wasn't
clear on Friday if Deutsche Bank was acting on behalf of another
company or for itself, as banks typically handle bond tenders like
this for clients.
The offer comes as Noble has been pursuing a restructuring for
months as it seeks to stay afloat, address a liquidity crunch and
in due course provide a return to shareholders who have watched
Noble's market value decline to about $110 million from a peak of
more than $11 billion in 2011 partially on declines in commodities
prices.
"Deutsche Bank expects the tender process to increase the
already high level of support for the restructuring, as any bonds
acquired by the bank will be automatically committed to the
restructuring," said Sarah Stabler, vice president, communications
at Deutsche Bank in Singapore.
Noble Group declined to comment.
Noble had already secured the support of 86% of creditors, much
higher than the minimum 75% it needed for the restructuring. The
company needs more than half of equity shareholders to approve the
revamp at a meeting on Aug. 27.
Any response to the Deutsche Bank's offer would add more
supporters to the restructuring plan, also benefiting the bank as
the lender will gain a higher share in the restructured entity with
its higher bondholding being acquired at much lower costs.
Deutsche Bank's notice to Noble's bondholders sent on Wednesday
gives them time until Aug. 24 to tender their bonds.
The bank's offer covers roughly two-thirds of the debt under
restructuring, or $2.34 billion of three separate bonds issued by
Noble that are due in 2018, 2020 and 2022. The minimum purchase
price is 45 cents on the dollar, according to the notice, which was
reviewed by The Journal. These bonds recently traded between 46 and
48 cents on the dollar, according to Thomson Reuters.
Write to Manju Dalal at manju.dalal@wsj.com and Saurabh
Chaturvedi at Saurabh.Chaturvedi@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 20, 2018 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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