Noble Group’s new CEOs face challenge of raising US$1 bil

GENEVA / SINGAPORE (May 31): Yusuf Alireza has gone but Noble Group Ltd’s challenges remain. The commodity trader that announced the chief executive officer’s resignation on Monday as yet more assets were put up for sale, still faces the hurdle of raising about US$1 billion ($1.38 billion) to shore up its balance sheet.

The company is sticking with its plan to raise the funds through redeploying capital from low-return businesses, non-core asset sales, and other capital-raising initiatives, an external spokeswoman for the company told Bloomberg News. The proposed sale of Noble Americas Energy Solutions, announced yesterday, is an additional step, she said.

Noble Group has been under intense pressure for more than a year as the commodity rout spurred losses, its credit rating was cut to junk even as it sold its agriculture unit stake to raise funds, and its accounting methods came under attack from critics including Iceberg Research. The efforts to turn the company around now rest with new co-CEOs William Randall, Noble Group’s president, and Jeff Frase, president of Noble Americas, as well as founder and chairman, Richard Elman. Moody’s Investors Service Inc said the loss of Alireza doesn’t affect its junk rating and highlighted outstanding challenges.

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