US judge approves bid from Elliott affiliate for Citgo Petroleum parent

A U.S. judge approved a $5.9 billion bid from an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management in the court-organized auction of Citgo Petroleum's parent, clearing the way to order the sale of Venezuela-owned PDV Holding.

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Judge Leonard Stark, from Delaware, overruled pending objections to the bid and set a deadline for a report with any other material issues that could have been overlooked. He asked a court officer overseeing the process to submit a proposed sale order in sufficient time to be signed, for which parties including Venezuela must reach an agreement on terms.

"The Amber Bid offers the best overall combination of price and certainty of closing of any bid submitted," Stark wrote, characterizing the process as fair and equitable.

The decision confirms a shift from a recommendation made in August by court officer Robert Pincus, following a bidding war in the competition's last mile that saw new and improved offers for control of Citgo, the seventh-largest U.S. refiner.

The main attraction of the bid from Elliott's Amber Energy is that it offers a $2.1 billion payment to the holders of a defaulted Venezuelan bond collateralized with Citgo equity, which is expected to remove a key obstacle to taking ownership of Citgo's assets.

"We look forward to working with the talented Citgo team to strengthen the business through capital investment and operational excellence," Amber Energy CEO Gregory Goff, who plans to assume the top role at the refiner, said in a statement.

The company will continue to operate as Citgo, and Amber said it's planning operational enhancements and strategic investments to improve profitability.