Overview

• A court-appointed special master named the Gold Reserve and Dalinar Energy consortium’s $7.38 billion bid as the “best and highest” offer for PDV Holding, dismissing rival objections to the auction process.
• The recommended price more than doubles the $3.7 billion minimum set by a U.S. judge in April, marking the largest creditor-led bid for an American refining asset in decades.
• Judge Leonard Stark will hear final arguments on August 18, after which the court must sign off and the U.S. Treasury Department will assess compliance with sanctions rules.
• Citgo’s current management has vowed to challenge any transfer of control, indicating the outcome may face further legal battles.
• Control of Citgo’s 770,000 barrels-per-day Gulf Coast refining network could alter U.S. fuel supply chains and crude purchasing under existing Venezuelan sanctions.