Shareholders in Noble Group, once one of Asia’s largest commodity traders, are set to meet later today to determine its future.
They are set to vote at 14:30 local time on the proposed restructuring of the Hong Kong-based, but Singapore-listed company.
The $3.5bn debt restructuring deal, in which creditors will swap their existing holdings for equity and new debt, would hand them a 70% stake ownership stake.
Noble’s existing shareholders’ will see their stakes dwindle to 20%, while its management would pick up the remaining 10%.
Noble said the restructuring has to-date received support from “a number of its stakeholders” in line with the board’s objective to “conclude a consensual restructuring process”.
Shareholders controlling over 30% of Noble’s share capital have signed irrevocable undertakings to vote in favour of the resolutions to be proposed at the special general meeting (SGM).
These include Noble Holdings, with 17.9%, Abu Dhabi-based investment fund Goldilocks Investment Company, with 8.1% and a consortium including Vale Partners and Pinpoint Asset Management with 4.4%.
Accountancy firm KPMG has warned that failure to secure the restructuring plan could end in a liquidation that would give creditors as little as 20% of face value.
Noble has shrunk its business after selling billions of dollars of assets, taking hefty write-downs and cutting hundreds of jobs.
Last week Richard Elman, the founder of Noble Group, confirmed he would not be taking up a previously announced position as an executive director in the restructured company.
The news of his change of mind was confirmed in a regulatory filing to the Singapore Exchange, which cited “personal reasons” for the decision.
Separately, Noble confirmed on Sunday that Noble Holdings had sold $10.5m in principal amount on 6.75% senior notes due January 2020 to Deutsche Bank.
The bonds were sold under the German lender’s tender offer to purchase the debt-ridden Noble’s outstanding bonds.
