Russia's Ozon says it secures standstill agreements with bondholders

Ozon Holdings

01/06/2022 22:12

June 1 (Reuters) - Russian e-commerce firm Ozon  OZON.O 
said on Wednesday it has reached standstill deals with nearly
36% of bondholders who have agreed to abstain from claims on
$750 million worth of bonds until Aug. 30.
    Nasdaq-listed Ozon, trading in whose shares has been
suspended since Feb. 28, said on Monday it had failed to redeem
some bonds to a group of holders, putting it at risk of a
potential default. The company said it was negotiating with
bondholders to find a solution.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2XM17G
    Ozon said on Wednesday that company and the ad hoc group of
bondholders, representing 21.4 per cent of the outstanding
bonds, had entered into a standstill agreement to facilitate the
restructuring of the bonds. 
    In addition, the company and certain Russian bondholders,
representing 14.5 per cent of the outstanding bonds had also
entered into a separate Russian standstill agreement.
    "Bondholders agreed to forbear from taking any enforcement
actions on the basis of certain identified events of default and
potential events of default under the bonds," Ozon said. 
    The standstill agreements will terminate on Aug. 30, 2022,
subject to certain early termination events and an extension
option.
    Ozon called on other bondholders to join the standstill
agreements.
    The company, which has not been targeted by Western
sanctions, has said Russian capital controls and the
ever-changing regulatory backdrop were restricting it from
diverting funds from its Russian subsidiaries, creating the risk
that it would have insufficient liquidity at the required time.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2XJ3QD

 (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Richard Pullin)