Noble Group To Sell Its U.S. Oil-liquids Business To Vitol

(RTTNews) - Noble Group Ltd. said that it agreed to sell its U.S. oil-liquids business to Vitol Group, with proceeds to be used to pay down some of the company's debt. While Noble expects to post a net loss of up to $1.25 billion for the third quarter primarily due to non-cash losses resulting from sale of certain assets and businesses.

Noble said the gross consideration of the sale would be $1.42 billion and after deducting indebtedness of about $836 million, the cash proceeds would be about $582 million.

The deal may be terminated at any time prior to the Closing by either Noble Group or Vitol if Closing has not occurred before 1 February 2018, provided that such right to terminate shall not be available to any party whose breach of the SPA results in the failure of the Closing to have occurred by such time and (ii) if the Buyer obtains permission from the provider of its representation and warranty insurance to extend the Long-Stop Date to 1 April 2018, the Long-Stop Date will be automatically extended to such date.

In a separate statement, Noble Group said it expects a total net loss of $1.10 billion and $1.25 billion for the third-quarter, and that lenders had agreed to a two-month extension of a waiver related to a revolving-credit facility.

Exceptional losses, including non-cash items, will total between $1.05 billion and $1.15 billion for the period.

Noble Group noted that the strategic review continues to explore several alternatives, including recapitalising the Hard Commodities, Freight and LNG businesses, with a view to maximising value for the benefit of the Group's stakeholders.