Naftogaz Ukrainy's group of creditors has agreed the terms of exchange for $500 million in eurobonds that matured on September 30, 2009, following talks in London on Tuesday, Carl Philipp R.Thomas, a partner at Aequi-Libria (Luxembourg), which represents the group of creditors, told Interfax-Ukraine.
The negotiations in London persuaded Belize-based Corlblow to drop
its opposition to the restructuring. It indicated it would approve the
restructuring at a meeting of the creditors in London on October 19,
Thomas said.
According to the text of the press announcement from the group of
creditors, the text of which has been obtained by Interfax, the
restructuring terms are not optimal for the holders, but realistically
reflect Naftogaz’s current financial situation.
Naftogaz’s payment of the final coupon on September 30 indicates the
company’s desire to meet its commitments despite difficult economic
circumstances, it says.
The talks in London helped convince the creditors that the company
was being economically realistic. Ultimately, creditors decided the
sovereign guarantee on a new issue of bonds demonstrated that Naftogaz
was committed to resolving an unpleasant situation.
Corlblow said it would vote in favor of the restructuring deal at the October 19 meeting, so long as a quorum (75%) is achieved.
Naftogaz on September 24 offered to exchange $500 million in
eurobonds maturing on September 30, 2009 for new bonds guaranteed by
the state and maturing in 2014. The new bonds would have a coupon rate
of 9.5% annually compared with 8.125% on the existing issue.
One condition Naftogaz Ukrainy plans for the exchange is that
holders who accept the exchange before October 8 would receive new
bonds equal to 100% of their holdings. In the second phase, until
October 15, holders would receive 95%.
The coupon payment on September 30 totaled $20.3 million.
Naftogaz is seeking to restructure $1.6 billion in foreign debt.
