Noble Group said yesterday that a special general meeting (SGM) to approve the company's proposed restructuring has been convened for Aug 27 at 2.30pm.
The restructuring has to-date received support from a number of the company's stakeholders in line with the board's objective to conclude a consensual restructuring process, said Noble.
Noble Holdings (with 17.9 per cent of shares in the company), Goldilocks Investment Company (8.1 per cent of shares) and a consortium including Value Partners and Pinpoint Asset Management (about 4.4 per cent of shares) have signed irrevocable undertakings to vote in favour of the resolutions to be proposed at the SGM.
Their shareholdings collectively comprise over 30 per cent of Noble's issued share capital.
The consortium (holding about 42.9 per cent of the existing perpetual capital securities) has also signed irrevocable undertakings to vote in favour of the Existing Perpetual Capital Securities Resolutions. Over 86 per cent of existing note creditors and existing revolving credit facility lenders (in aggregate) have acceded to the restructuring support agreement (RSA).
Noble chairman Paul Brough said: "If shareholders vote in favour of the RSA, Noble will enter the final procedural stages of its restructuring and the establishment of New Noble. The board believes that the RSA represents the best and most fair deal for all parties and the best way to preserve the residual value in the company for all stakeholders."
It is "critical", he added, that Noble completes the restructuring as soon as possible to enable the group to "once again operate with a sustainable capital structure" and "focus on capitalising on the growing opportunities in the Asian commodities markets".
Noble said the Singapore Exchange has required that New Noble appoint a Singapore-registered audit firm as a joint auditor for the purposes of the audit of New Noble, its subsidiaries and its significant associated companies for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2018, and as a sole auditor for the purposes of the audit of New Noble, its subsidiaries and its significant associated companies for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2019.
Noble said: "In this regard, the preparation of the financial statements of New Noble Group (which is expected to also comprise, in part, financial statements of Noble Group Ltd for the relevant period prior to the incorporation of New Noble) will be prepared under a joint audit between Ernst & Young Hong Kong and Ernst & Young Singapore for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2018."
