Noble Group to apply for restructuring with Bermuda court

Embattled commodities firm Noble Group will be making an application to the Bermuda court in a bid to carry on with its restructuring plans, it said in a regulatory filing on the Singapore Exchange on Tuesday.

Assuming that the order of the Bermuda court is obtained on December 14, the restructuring effective date is expected to be on December 18. The perpetual capital securities exchange is expected to be implemented as planned, it said.

Noble Group has already secured a restructuring extension deadline of December 31, this year, for the English and Bermuda schemes. The extended deadline allows for the Bermuda court to process on the company’s application request and for the restructuring to convene.

The application serves to be “for the benefit of all of its stakeholders”, Noble Group added.

If the firm is unable to restructure this way, it would be forced to enter a full liquidation process. This will result in no recovery for shareholders and holders of the company’s perpetual capital securities, and also materially lesser recoveries for creditors.

If the restructuring pushes through, existing shareholders of the company will have 20% of interest in New Noble allocated to them. Noble Group said in the statement the listing status of the company will not be transferred to New Noble, as stated in the earlier announcement on December 7.

Singapore authorities refuse Noble Group’s re-listing plans, citing auditing concerns

Noble Group had initially wanted to relist on November 27, but investigations from Singapore authorities on alleged accounting mismanagement caused it to push back the date to December 11.

Last week, Singapore authorities blocked the transfer of Noble Group’s listing status to New Noble, citing “significant uncertainties about the financial position” of the new restructured company.

The announcement arrived after a careful review of an earlier investigation probe into Noble Group and its subsidiary Noble Resources International.

The re-listing was a key support role for the commodities firm’s US$3.5 billion debt-for-equity swap aimed to transform its business.

Noble Group’s board had called the investigations “premature”, adding that there are currently no conclusive findings on the investigations. The group had previously said that it was looking for other options to restructure its business that does not involve a transfer of the listing status.