Argentina Resolves Bond Debt Claims for $250M and 185M Euros

By LARRY NEUMEISTER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Feb 22, 2016, 8:54 PM ET

Argentina has reached a settlement with several bondholders for $250 million and 185 million euros, a court-appointed mediator said Monday as the country continues work toward ending a debt crisis that has damaged its ability to maneuver financially abroad.

The latest deals boost to more than $1.5 billion the amount Argentina has committed in deals since President Mauricio Macri took office on Dec. 10.

Court-appointed mediator Daniel Pollack has announced a string of agreements over several weeks after Argentina announced it expected to pay about $6.5 billion to settle claims of about $10 billion by bondholders, including U.S. hedge funds.

The latest settlements involve bondholders including Lightwater Corp, Old Castle Holdings, VR Capital, Procella Holdings and Capital Ventures International, Pollack said.

The bondholders refused to swap their bonds at a steep discount when Argentina offered swaps in 2005 and 2010 to ease its financial crisis after it defaulted on $100 billion in bonds in 2001. They went to court instead, winning judgments.

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