Akin Advises Ad Hoc Committee of Noteholders on $1.125B Nostrum Restructuring

(London) – A multidisciplinary, cross-jurisdictional Akin team has advised the ad hoc committee of noteholders in relation to the financial restructuring and outstanding debt liabilities of LSE-listed Nostrum Oil & Gas plc, an independent oil and exploration & production company in northwest Kazakhstan.

Following Nostrum entering a forbearance agreement and lock-up agreement with the ad hoc group of noteholders, Nostrum launched an English scheme to restructure $1.125 billion of notes, which involved a deleveraging debt-for-debt and debt-for-equity swap. 

Noteholders received a pro rata allocation of $250m million of new senior secured notes and $300 million of senior unsecured notes, 88.89% of the share capital of Nostrum, and the benefits of new warrants issued to a warrant trustee on behalf of holders of the senior unsecured notes from time to time.

The restructuring was completed on February 9, 2023. 

The Akin team was led by financial restructuring partner James Terry and counsel Jakeob Brown. The team included lawyers from across the firm’s London; New York; Washington, D.C.; and Geneva offices, with partner Vance Chapman, senior counsel Tony Barnes and counsel Nertila Qenani and Christopher Beardmore advising on corporate aspects; and associate Nick Avis and trainee Gunel Latifova from the financial restructuring team and partner Clare Cottle and associate Adair Cook advising on finance aspects of the transaction.  

The broader team included partners Matthew Durward-Thomas, Howard Jacobson and Brandon Morris together with associate Aaron Jenman (tax), partners Jasper Helder, Jonathan Poling, Melissa Schwartz and Alexis Guinan, counsel Adam Hensel-Briscoe and associate Hannes Sigurgeirsson (international trade); partners Scott Pettifor and Davina Garrod (competition); partner Ezra Zahabi and counsel Suley Siddiqui (financial regulation); and partners Rosa Testani and Jesse Brush and counsel Yehuda Raskin (capital markets).

Akin worked alongside PJT Partners LLP led by Martin Gudgeon and Philip Arnolds, acting as financial adviser to the ad hoc committee of noteholders.

Akin is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers and advisors in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

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