Naftogaz restructuring accepted by majority of Eurobond holders

Naftogaz of Ukraine announced yesterday that a majority of holders of its USD 500 mln Eurobond that matured on September 30 signed up by its early participation deadline yesterday to swap their bonds for new ones with the same face value maturing in 2014 with a coupon of 9.5%, local news agencies have reported. Naftogaz said it would release final results of participation later today. Various media reports indicated 60-75% of bondholders agreed to the proposed swap. October 15 is the final participation deadline for Eurobond holders to agree to the swap; and a noteholder meeting is scheduled for October 19.