Russian gold miner Petropavlovsk to file for administration

- Petropavlovsk PLC shares on Tuesday were suspended from trading in London as it unveiled plans to file for administration.

The Russian gold miner has decided to file an application for an administration order appointing Allister Manson, Trevor Binyon and Jo Rolls of Opus Business Advisory Group as administrators of the company.

‘The board will seek a hearing of the administration application at the High Court in London in the coming days. There will be a further announcement when the date of the hearing is known,’ it said.

In light of the plans, it has requested shares be suspended from trading in London.

On Monday, Petropavlovsk said a sum of $157,880 and a coupon payment of around $680,625 became due on June 27 and July 3, respectively, in relation to its $125 million 8.25% guaranteed convertible bonds due 2024. Both remain unpaid.

In April, the company explained that it was unable to make interest payments to Moscow-based Gazprombank, due to the sanctions imposed on the Russian lender, its limited cash reserves outside Russia, and legal restrictions in the country that limit its ability to transfer cash outside of it. Therefore, it decided to default on loan repayments that are owed to the bank.

On Tuesday, the firm said it is ‘very unlikely’ it will be able to refinance its term loan in the near-term and has, to date, been unable to do so.

Talks remain ongoing over a possible sale of its operating subsidiaries.

‘The company has received an offer from one party to acquire and a proposal from another party expressing an interest in the acquisition of those subsidiaries. Discussions with both parties are ongoing. There can be no certainty that either will result in a sale and it is highly unlikely that there will be any return to shareholders given the level of the group's indebtedness,’ it warned.

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