Premier Oil surges as lenders agree refinancing deal

Shares in Premier Oil surged on Wednesday after the company said it has secured the final lock-up for its refinancing bid.

The company said the final Schuldschein loan holder has entered into the lock up agreement with respect to the terms of the proposed refinancing.

“As a result of this, the lock up agreements entered into by the private lenders (comprising the RCF, FLS Term Loan, US Private Placement notes and Schuldschein loans) and the convertible bondholders have now become effective, committing the parties who have locked up to vote in favour of the refinancing."

At the end of last year, Premier’s net debt stood at $2.8bn, up from $2.2bn the year before but down from the peak reached in the third quarter of 2016.

The group reiterated in its final results earlier this month that it expects to complete its refinancing by the end of May.

At 1247 GMT, the shares were up 15% to 63.10p.