Elliott Affiliate Boosts Offer for Citgo Parent to $8.82 Billion

An affiliate of Elliott Investment Management, identified in court filings as Amber Energy, has raised its offer for PDV Holding—the Venezuela-owned parent of U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum—to $8.82 billion. The improved bid was disclosed in a Delaware court update on the court-supervised auction of PDVH shares. The auction is intended to satisfy claims from 15 creditors stemming from Venezuela’s sovereign and PDVSA debt defaults and expropriations. Prior to Amber’s latest move, a court officer had recommended a $7.4 billion proposal led by miner Gold Reserve, but that was overtaken last week by an $8.45 billion bid from a Vitol subsidiary. Amber’s offer now sets a new high watermark and, according to creditor Red Tree Investments, includes provisions to compensate holders of a defaulted Venezuelan bond. The Delaware court has scheduled a hearing next week to determine the winning bidder. A decision will shape the future ownership of Citgo, one of the largest independent refiners in the United States, and influence how creditors recover on long-standing Venezuelan obligations.