Commodity trader Noble Group said yesterday the final amount that Mercuria Energy paid for its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Noble Americas Gas & Power Corp (NAGP), was higher at US$168 million (S$223.7 million).

In October, Noble said it had sold NAGP for US$102 million, less than the US$261 million expected earlier because of changes in working capital and amounts placed in escrow.

In a filing with the Singapore Exchange, Noble said that after the closing of the disposal on Sept 29 last year, the final consideration was higher at about US$168 million after being "subject to adjustment according to the terms and conditions of the stock purchase agreement".

This final amount includes US$20 million which remains deposited with the escrow agent.

NAGP is one of the many assets that Noble sold off last year in order to reduce its debts.

As of Sept 30, it had debt of US$3.5 billion, but its cash and short-term deposits (excluding cash balances with future brokers) fell to US$256 million, from US$467 million in the pre ious quarter. It also reported a net loss of US$1.2 billion for the three months to Sept 30, largely owing to write-downs for net fair-value losses related to the sale of its businesses.

Noble traded 2.17 per cent, or 0.5 Singapore cent, lower to close at 22.5 Singapore cents apiece yesterday.