(Bloomberg) – Tullow Oil Plc sank to a document low, with buying and selling of the shares briefly halted in London, after the corporate mentioned it’s considering options to refinance its looming debt maturities.
The inventory plunged as a lot as 35% to five.55 pence, the bottom since buying and selling started in 1989, over fears {that a} potential debt deal may harm shareholders. Tullow’s bonds maturing subsequent Could dropped 7 cents to round 79 cents on the greenback, based on knowledge complied by Bloomberg.
Tullow grew to become one of many UK’s hottest impartial oil explorers after making a number of main African discoveries within the late 2000s. But it surely took on large money owed to develop them, and in recent times struggled to convey Kenyan fields onstream. This yr it agreed to promote the Kenyan deposits and offloaded belongings in Gabon.
In a buying and selling replace on Friday, the corporate mentioned uncertainty surrounding its efficiency and the market led it to push ahead with “various choices with sure of its collectors, together with an amend and prolong train and different types of legal responsibility administration transactions.” It additionally raised its year-end internet debt forecast to $1.2 billion, from $1.1 billion.
Legal responsibility administration workouts are maneuvers to transform debt buildings exterior of courtroom.
“We expect a debt for fairness swap could also be required to maintain the corporate going, which might in all probability wipe out present fairness holders,” Ashley Kelty, an analyst at Panmure Liberum, mentioned in a word to purchasers.
Whereas Tullow had beforehand spoken about bringing a strategic investor in, which may have helped with the looming maturity wall, the primary focus is now on checking out the debt first, based on folks conversant in the matter, who requested to not be named discussing personal info.
Bloomberg beforehand reported that collectors had organized with adviser Houlihan Lokey Inc. and Weil Gotshal & Manges. Massive holders embody Astaris Capital Administration, Caius Capital, Melqart Asset Administration and Tresidor Funding Administration.
A monetary answer is to be constructed on the premise of Tullow’s price range for subsequent yr, the folks mentioned.
“Manufacturing in 2026 will probably be depending on a lot of elements, together with manufacturing from new wells serving to to offset the pure decline from present nicely inventory,” Tullow mentioned within the buying and selling replace.