Singapore 29/01/2016 - Shareholders of Singapore-listed Noble Group have backed the commodity trader’s sale of its stake in agriculture unit, Noble Agri, with 90 percent of total votes cast at its special general meeting on Thursday supporting the sale.
“The overwhelming mandate we have seen for the sale of our remaining shareholding in Noble Agri confirms the shareholder support we have in our continued move towards becoming an asset-light company,” Noble’s CEO Yusuf Alireza said in a statement on Thursday.
The transaction, which is expected to be completed by end February, will generate a cash infusion of $750 million and remove the company's contingent guarantee related to Noble Agri bank lines in excess of $3 billion, he added.
Noble had announced the sale of its 49 percent stable in Noble Agri to China’s Cofco Corp in December last year, the move aimed at paying down debt and improving its balance sheet.
Despite the sale, credit rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody’s had thereafter downgraded Noble’s bond ratings to junk on liquidity concerns.
Noble’s share price last traded 15 percent higher at 31 Singapore cents on Friday, after closing at 27 cents on Thursday. Its share price has fallen by over 20 percent since the start of the year following the downgrades and global commodity price slump.