Ukraine extends “early consent” deadline for debt restructuring

(Reuters) – Ukraine said that it was extending on Friday an incentivised “early consent” deadline for international bondholders to back its plan to restructure more than $20 billion of its debt by four days due to “technical issues”.

The deadline was due to run until Friday, but Ukraine’s Finance Ministry said in a statement that it had been pushed back to 5:00 p.m. New York time (2200 GMT) on Tuesday, Aug. 27.

“Ukraine understands that some holders may be facing technical issues in delivering their participation instructions through their custodians and clearing systems,” it said.

Holders who back the deal by the deadline are eligible to receive a incentive payment known as a “consent fee”.

For the restructuring to go through at least two-thirds of the overall number of bondholders need to back it, along with a simple majority of 50% for each individual series of bond involved.

(Reporting by Disha Mishra in Bengaluru and Marc Jones in London, Editing by Louise Heavens and Alex Richardson)