Adjournment in View: Court Delays Citgo Auction Amid Bidding Intricacies

A Delaware court officer managing the auction of shares in Citgo Petroleum's parent company has called for a delay in the final hearing initially planned for next week. This proceedings pause comes after two unsolicited bids emerged, adding complexity to the sale process.

Unpredictable offers from affiliates of hedge fund Elliott Investment Management and commodities firm Vitol have complicated the auction, which was originally supposed to pay off creditors due to Venezuela's debt defaults. Legal wrangling among creditors seeking control of the same assets has added further procedural knots.

Court officer Robert Pincus, with support from some auction participants, has asked to push back the hearing date, though this move is contested by Gold Reserves. Pincus intends to propose a revised timeline for the sale proceedings to the court this week.

(With inputs from agencies.)