Rep for court officer reports multiple competitive bids in Citgo parent auction
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Successful Second Bidding Round for Citgo Petroleum Parent
The recent bidding round for shares in the parent company of Citgo Petroleum has been deemed "successful," with a U.S. federal court receiving several competitive bids last month. The sale process aims to pay creditors up to $21.3 billion, addressing past expropriations and debt defaults by Venezuela. Originally launched by miner Crystallex in 2017, the legal case has since enabled numerous companies to seek proceeds through the court-organized auction.
Earlier this year, Venezuela's representatives criticized the first bidding round as "disappointing" due to a top offer of $7.3 billion, well short of the estimated $11 billion to $13 billion valuation of the U.S.'s seventh-largest refiner, which is owned by Venezuela. Details regarding participants and their offers in the second round were not disclosed during a court hearing on Tuesday. Legal representatives for Citgo and its parent company, PDV Holding, indicated that both firms remain unaware of the identities of the bidders. Requests for comments from Citgo and its supervisory boards went unanswered.
Last month, the Canada-incorporated miner Gold Reserve announced that it had submitted a credit bid. Other notable participants in the second bidding round include trading house Vitol and refiner CVR Energy, as reported earlier. In the lead-up, financial entities such as JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Rothschild & Co, and Wells Fargo were seen aligning with some of the bids, according to sources. However, these firms declined to comment on the matter.
Delaware Judge Leonard Stark has granted a motion to delay the case's final hearing until September 19, allowing additional time to assess the bids and determine a successful bidder, expected to be announced around July 31. The U.S. Justice Department also issued a letter this week backing an extension of the sales process to prevent any disruptions given Venezuela's upcoming presidential election on July 28, a point highlighted by a lawyer for the Venezuelan parties during the hearing.
