SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Shares in Noble Group Ltd <NOBG.SI>, once Asia's top commodity trader, were suspended from trading from Monday, as the company seeks to transform into an Asia-focused coal-trading business following a $3.5 billion debt restructuring deal.
Singapore-listed Noble said last week it had obtained the required approvals, including getting a go-ahead from courts for its restructuring and payment to creditors, clearing the final hurdle to completing its controversial debt-for-equity swap.
Under the lifeline provided by creditors, Noble is halving its debt, in return giving 70 percent ownership to the creditors, which are comprised mainly of hedge funds. The deal leaves existing equity holders with just 20 percent in the restructured firm.
Sources familiar with the matter say Noble is expected to name a new board by end-November, and shares in the company, which will be called Noble Group Holdings, are expected to list in December.
Singapore-based Ian Potter, a former senior banker at Morgan Stanley who has been working with Noble in an advisory capacity for the past few months, is to be named its new chairman, the sources said last week. The sources did not wish to be named as Noble had not made any official announcement about the changes.
There was no immediate response from Noble to a Reuters query on the matter on Monday.
Noble's market value has been all but wiped out from $6 billion in February 2015 after Iceberg Research questioned its accounts. Noble has shrunk its business after selling billions of dollars of assets, taking hefty writedowns and cutting hundreds of jobs following a slide in investor confidence.
(Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Tom Hogue)
