Bowing to criticism from the Singapore Exchange and other investors, embattled Noble Group is removing a provision in its $3.4 billion debt restructuring proposal that penalized shareholders voting against the plan, Reuters reported. The debt-for-equity swap is crucial for the survival of the Singapore-listed company, which has sold billions of dollars of assets, taken hefty writedowns and cut hundreds of jobs over the past three years to slash debt. Noble has secured the backing of its creditors, but it also needs approval from a majority of its shareholders. “If more than half of the shareholders vote in favor of the restructuring, all shareholders, irrespective of their vote at the special general meeting, will receive the same treatment and will participate in the restructuring,” Chairman Paul Brough said yesterday in a letter addressed to shareholders and sent to SGX.
