By Marianna Parraga
HOUSTON (Reuters) -Black Lion Citgo Group, a consortium led by private equity firm Black Lion Capital Advisors, submitted a $8-billion all-cash bid for the parent of Venezuela-owned U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum as part of a court-organized auction of shares, the company said in a filing released on Wednesday.
Following the selection of a $3.7 billion offer by Red Tree Investments as starting bid earlier this year, a court in Delaware received rival offers until June 18 for Citgo’s parent PDV Holding as part of a bidding round aimed to pay up to 15 creditors for debt defaults and expropriations in Venezuela.
The auction’s winner is expected to be recommended by a court officer overseeing the sales process by July 2, with a final hearing set for August 18, according to a schedule recently updated by the court.
Black Lion’s offer, submitted last week, is backed by investors Quazar Investment, Anex Management and Fortress Management and includes an $8-billion base purchase price plus court and government fees and insulation funds for up to $3 billion, according to the filing.
A consortium of miners Gold Reserve and Rusoro and conglomerate Koch also submitted an offer as part of the bidding round, Gold Reserve said earlier this month. Two rival groups led by affiliates of commodities house Vitol and hedge fund Elliott Investment Management were considering bids, but their submissions have not been confirmed.
Black Lion’s offer “exceeds the current stalking horse bid and all reported topping bids publicly known to date” and “is backed by committed institutional funding, with documented capacity greatly exceeding $12 billion,” the company told the court.
(Reporting by Marianna ParragaEditing by Marguerita Choy)
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