Noble rejects majority stakeholder's request to disclose talks

Goldilocks accused Noble of sending out a misleading statement about its restructuring.

Amidst conflict with a majority shareholder, Noble Group Limited (NGL) rejected Goldilocks Investment Company's request to be released from its non disclosure disagreement based on past talks.

NGL said in a press release, "the Board is not aware of any reason that would justify Goldilocks’ release from non disclosure of confidential information and therefore has not acceded to Goldilocks’ request."

Goldilocks, which owns 8.1% of Noble, previously said in a letter that NGL's announcement on 31 January “suggests that Goldilocks tried to take advantage of Noble’s financial situation by demanding two board seats on Noble’s board as a precondition to any restructuring or investment options.”

NGL said there is nothing in their 31 January announcement saying that Goldilocks is trying to take advantage of the financial situation and that it is "accurate and not misleading."

Goldilocks also questioned why NGL's sales used steep discounts.

NGL opened up about the sale processes of Noble Americas Corp (NAC) and Noble Americas Gas & Power Corp (NAGP) and said the sale of the units followed the conventional process.

Due to restrictive baking facilities, trading was "significantly curtailed" which impacted both operating income and overheads.

The disposal of NAGP was initially valued at US$248m, but the final price of the deal declined to US$168m. Meanwhile, NAC's price declined from US$582m to US$400m within six months.

NGL encountered delays in obtaining anti-trust approvals in various Latin American countries for NAC's sale.

Meanwhile, in another press release, Noble said advocacy group Securities Investors Association of Singapore's (SIAS) president and senior members met with NGL's chairman Paul Brough at SIAS' offices on 2 February 2018.

Brough explained that he and the company remain "committed to an open and ongoing dialogue with shareholders irrespective of the size of their individual holdings." Moreover, SIAS will host a town hall gathering once the restructuring has advanced.