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
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.