Afren bondholders hire Blackstone advisers
Afren creditors holding bonds worth USD 860m have engaged a team of restructuring experts from Blackstone, The Sunday Times reported. The unsourced report said the advisers were appointed on Friday 23 January to help the bondholders examine their options.
Afren, a UK-listed oil-exploration company, is expected to receive a takeover offer from its Nigerian competitor Seplat within days, the report said. It added that in the event no deal emerges, two potential chief executive candidates have been lined up: Roc Oil’s Alan Linn and Jon Ferrier of Maersk.
Afren’s share price has fallen almost 90% in the past six months amid corporate scandal, a USD 1.2bn debt burden and the plummeting price of oil, the report pointed out.
Morgan Stanley is advising Afren, while its lenders have hired PwC ahead of a USD 50m bank repayment which is due this Friday but which Afren has requested be extended, the report said.
Sunday Times