Argentina Bond Battle Drags on as Elliott Spurns Macri's Offer

[Judi Lynn]

Argentina Bond Battle Drags on as Elliott Spurns Macri's Offer

by Katia Porzecanski t KatiaPorzo

Chiara Vasarri t cvasarri

February 8, 2016 — 3:17 AM CST

Prat-Gay predicts funds will make concessions in coming days

Aurelius says offers vary widely for different creditors

The 15-year dispute between Argentina and holders of its defaulted bonds is set to drag on after the biggest holdout creditors refused to accept the government’s terms.

Hedge-fund billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Management, along with Aurelius Capital Management, Davidson Kempner Capital Management and Bracebridge Capital, declined an offer made public on Feb. 5 that Argentine officials said would pay as much as $6.5 billion on $9 billion of holdout claims. The proposal, which was accepted by two of the six biggest hedge funds suing the country, was more generous than offers made by President Mauricio Macri’s predecessors in two restructurings after the 2001 default.

Argentina will remain locked out of international bond markets as long as the dispute is unresolved, limiting the country’s ability to raise financing overseas and attract foreign investment to its dollar-starved economy. Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay said in a radio interview over the weekend that he expects the remaining holdouts to make some concessions during the next couple of days, while Aurelius Chairman Mark Brodsky issued a statement signaling that the different terms offered to investors have left the two sides far from a deal.

While the offer made by Argentina is “a very promising starting point, it may require additional negotiations down the road,” said Alejo Costa, the head strategist at Puente Hermanos, a Buenos Aires-based brokerage. “At the end of the day, it will depend on Elliott’s and Aurelius’s attitude toward an agreement.”

More:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-08/argentina-bond-battle-drags-on-as-elliott-spurns-macri-s-offer