In a bid to pay back lenders and reduce its debt, Noble Group Ltd, who earlier in the year saw its stock and bond prices fall sharply after announcements of financial difficulties due to the commodities slump, plans to sell its U.S. oil-liquids business to Vitol Group. The sale of Noble Americas for US$1.418 billion follows the sale of Noble’s smaller gas-and-power trading unit to Mercuria last month and will, according to Company officials, “unlock capital from Noble Group’s balance sheet and generate significant liquidity” as the Company pays down some of its debt.
At the same time, Noble disclosed that lenders had agreed to a two-month extension (to December 20) of a waiver related to its committed unsecured revolving credit facility. Nevertheless, the Company’s troubles are far from over as Noble warns that it expects to post a net loss of US$1.1-1.25 billion for its third quarter.
