By Marianna Parraga
HOUSTON (Reuters) – The second round of bidding for shares in refinery parent Citgo Petroleum was “successful,” with several competitive bids received last month by a U.S. federal court, said a representative of the court official who oversees the sale process this Tuesday.
The case, which seeks to pay up to $21.3 billion to creditors for past expropriations and debt defaults in Venezuela, was filed by mining company Crystallex in 2017 and has since allowed a dozen and a half companies to recover profits from the organized auction. by the court.
Parties representing Venezuela called the first round of bidding in January “disappointing”, as the highest bid was $7.3 billion, far from a valuation of between $11 billion and $13 billion for the country’s seventh-largest refinery. USA, owned by Venezuela.
The second-round bidders and the value of their offers were not disclosed at a hearing on Tuesday. A lawyer representing Citgo and its parent company PDV Holding said the companies did not have access to the identities of the bidders.
Citgo and the boards that oversee the refinery did not respond to requests for comment.
Last month, Canadian-incorporated mining company Gold Reserve said it had submitted a credit offer. Trading company Vitol and refiner CVR Energy are also among the companies that participated in the second round, Reuters reported.
In recent weeks, financial allies have begun to form to support some of the proposals, including JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Rotschild & Co and Wells Fargo, sources said.
Vitol, CVR Energy, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Rotschild & Co and Wells Fargo declined to comment.
The bids proved to be complex, with many combining cash bids with credits.
Delaware Judge Leonard Stark approved a motion to postpone the final hearing in the case until September 19, giving more time to evaluate the proposals and select a winner, who is expected to be notified around July 31.
The U.S. Department of Justice issued a letter this week supporting an extension of the sales process to prevent interference in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election, said one of the lawyers representing Venezuelan parties at the hearing.
(Reporting by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Oliver Griffin and David Gregorio)
