A Delaware court has approved Elliott Management’s bid for Citgo, the refining subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA. Judge Leonard Stark announced the decision, allowing the involved parties until Monday to finalize a sale order, which includes obtaining agreement from the Venezuelan government.
In his ruling, Judge Stark stated that the Amber Bid represents the best overall combination of price and certainty among the bids submitted. Amber Energy, an affiliate of Elliott Management, first distinguished itself in the ongoing Citgo auction in August by proposing a bid valued at $5.86 billion for PDV Holding creditors, along with an additional $2.86 billion for settlements of claims tied to bondholders after PDV Holding’s parent company defaulted.
Despite this, a competing bid from a consortium led by Gold Reserve surfaced, offering $7.4 billion—substantially above the Amber Energy bid and exceeding the court’s established floor price of $3.7 billion. Lawyers for Gold Reserve criticized the Elliott bid, alleging it represented a “back-room carve-up” that diverts billions from legitimate creditors to bondholders entangled in a dispute over the validity of their notes within a New York court.
Adding to the tension, Gold Reserve sought a stay in the auction process last month, arguing that the proceedings were marred by conflicts of interest. They highlighted the $170 million in fees that special master’s advisors received from affiliates of Elliott and the bondholders involved in Elliott’s proposal. The parent company of Citgo, PDV Holding, also expressed criticism of the Amber Energy bid, calling the offered amount “so low it shocks the conscience.”
The proceeds from the eventual sale are intended to aid 15 creditors seeking to recover losses stemming from Venezuela’s nationalization efforts under former President Hugo Chavez and subsequent debt defaults since 2017. Collectively, these creditors are pursuing a total of $19 billion in recompense.
As the clock ticks down to the deadline for finalizing the sale order, the outcome remains uncertain, with significant implications for both the creditors and the future of Citgo.
