Noble Group has improved its offering to existing shareholders who are now set to receive 20% of the equity in the restructured company.
The move to increase the stake has also won over support from Goldilocks Investment Co, who had opposed the original restructuring plan.
The Abu Dhabi-based fund, which holds 8.1% of Noble, had been resisting a plan to restructure Noble that proposed halving the firm’s debt in return for handing over 70% of equity to senior creditors, with shareholders getting 15%.
“By reaching agreement with Goldilocks, the company is now able to move into the final stages of its restructuring and looks forward to executing the restructuring support agreement (RSA),” said Noble chairman Paul Brough.
Goldilocks will also be entitled to nominate one person to the board of directors in the restructured group, Noble said on Wednesday.
Noble had already improved the terms of its debt restructuring deal, saying in April that all existing shareholders would get a 15% stake in the restructured firm, replacing a previous proposal under which they would receive 10%.
As part of the deal Noble will form a “mutually advantageous Middle East strategic partnership” with Abu Dhabi Financial Group (ADFG) which was described as the “ultimate parent entity of the fund manager of Goldilocks”.
Under the partnership ADCM Resources, an affiliate of ADFG, will become Nobel’s “strategic partner” in the Middle East with respect to new business opportunities and will assist in developing and maintaining new customer relationships in the Middle East.
The tie-up will be for an initial term of four years and may be extended for an additional four years on terms to be mutually agreed at the end of the initial term.
Noble said the strategic partnership agreement will be “a constructive and cost effective way to expand the group’s business activities” in the Middle East.
“The Middle East is an attractive market for Noble: the region’s economies are reducing their oil dependency and businesses are seeking to diversify their interests and investments internationally,” Noble added.
