The U.S. judge pushed back the court-ordered auction schedule for Citgo Petroleum’s parent company shares until August 18.
The Delaware court extended the timeline for bidders to present their offers for the Venezuelan-owned refiner. The current opening bid of $3.7 billion from Red Tree Investments faces competition from other bidders who must submit their offers by June 18 while the court officer predicts additional participants will enter the process.
The auction process exists to fulfill debt obligations of billions of dollars which Venezuela incurred through debt defaults and asset confiscations during the 2010s. The seventh-largest U.S. refiner operates under U.S. sanctions protection since 2019.
Judge Leonard Stark accepted the proposed schedule from Venezuela’s legal team to obtain strong bids without causing extended delays. The court will announce its decision regarding the winning bid on July 2 while accepting final objections until July 9. The final step requires approval from the Treasury Department which has maintained protection of Citgo’s assets since the beginning.
