Two US-based holders of Aston Martin bonds have asked a New York court to authorise evidence-gathering ahead of a UK legal claim against the carmaker’s debt restructuring.
According to Bloomberg, Arini Capital Management and Tresidor Investment Management lodged the application with the Southern District of New York.
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The filing asks the court to compel BlackRock-owned HPS Investment Partners, the UK arm of Authentic Brands Group, and advisers Moelis & Co and Lazard to produce documents and give testimony.
Pallas Partners, representing the bondholders, plans to use the evidence in a UK claim now being drafted against the deal.
At issue is the arrangement between Aston Martin, HPS and Authentic Brands that raised £450m in debt – an arrangement the bondholders say left existing creditors worse off.
Aston Martin said in July it had lined up borrowing of up to £550m ($748.7m) from an HPS-led investor group.
The deal shifted some of the company’s most valuable assets out of reach of existing creditors and weighed on its bond prices.
The financing comprises a £450m senior secured term loan alongside a £100m delayed-draw term loan, with a further £100m of permitted debt – ranking below this facility – still available to the company.
According to the court filing, cited in the report, Latham & Watkins, acting for Aston Martin, argued the transaction is lawful and consistent with the bond documentation, but withheld most of the documents the bondholders had requested.
Aston Martin is also due to drop out of the FTSE 250, a move expected to be confirmed after markets close on 2 September.
The exclusion would formalise the company’s small-cap status and highlight the strain on its turnaround effort.
It would also remove Aston Martin from the FTSE 350, which combines the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250, and some funds may already be selling ahead of the change.
The FTSE 250 tracks the 250 largest London Stock Exchange-listed companies ranked below the FTSE 100.
