Akin Gump Advises Ad Hoc Group of Creditors of Premier Oil re: Merger with Chrysaor and c. $2.7 Billion Debt Restructuring

(London) – Akin Gump has advised an ad hoc group of creditors of Premier Oil in connection with the merger of Premier Oil with Chrysaor Holdings Limited and the restructuring of Premier Oil’s $2.7 billion of debt.

The merger was announced on October 6, 2020, and completed today. Premier Oil will be renamed Harbour Energy and will be the largest independent exploration and production company on the London Stock Exchange.

The debt restructuring was effected through inter-conditional restructuring plans under the new Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020. Creditors were able to elect to receive cash or cash and shares in the new combined group in exchange for their debt, and the group refinanced all of its existing Letter of Credit (LC) facilities under a new reserves-based lending facility. Akin Gump provided strategic restructuring advice throughout the negotiation and completion of this transaction, which was completed against the backdrop of wider market turmoil owing to the oil price crash and COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020.

Premier Oil was one of the North Sea’s largest oil companies, with multiple lender groups. Akin Gump previously represented creditors in connection with financial restructurings between creditors and the company, including through two Scottish law schemes of arrangement in 2017 and 2020.

London financial restructuring partner Barry Russell commented: “This significant financial restructuring was carried out in the face of major macro-economic challenges precipitated by the global pandemic. The team worked throughout 2020, first representing our clients in connection with contested scheme proceedings in early 2020, and then to negotiate and deliver an ambitious transaction involving the reverse takeover of Premier Oil by Chrysaor and, for creditors, a partial debt for equity swap and/or cash repayment, and a restructuring of the entire capital structure. That we were able to do this during UK lockdown is a testament to the skill and commitment of the entire team.”

The Akin Gump team advising the ad hoc group of creditors was led by London financial restructuring partners Barry Russell and Lois Deasey. The team also included corporate partner Gavin Weir, litigation partner Richard Hornshaw, financial regulatory partner Helen Marshall, financial restructuring partner James Roome, financial restructuring counsel Emma Butler and Jessica Ling, corporate counsel Nicholas Antonas, Rob Whittle and Dougall Meston, tax counsel Serena Lee and financial restructuring associate Ross Macgregor.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers and advisors in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

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