Delaware District Judge Leonard P. Stark has approved the sale of shares in PDV Holding, the parent company of Venezuelan state oil company Citgo, to Amber Energy, a subsidiary of the investment fund Elliott Investment Management.
Amber Energy announced the court’s decision in a statement, noting that they expect the transaction to close in 2026, pending approval from regulatory bodies such as the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and other “conditions.” The company will continue to operate as Citgo, with Gregory Goff as CEO.
“We look forward to working with the talented Citgo team to strengthen the business through capital investments and operational excellence. I am confident that together we will help enhance the United States’ leadership position in the energy sector,” Goff emphasized in the Amber Energy statement.
Amber Energy’s statement highlights that financial firms such as Barclays, Citi, and Perella Weinberg Partners have provided advisory services to Amber Energy in this transaction.
Amber Energy has not disclosed the funds it will allocate to the acquisition, but various US media outlets have reported a figure of $5.89 billion (approximately €5.082 billion), significantly lower than the official valuation of $13 billion established by the court itself. Venezuela maintains that Citgo is worth $18 billion.
Citgo is the seventh-largest US oil company by refining volume and is considered the main overseas asset of the state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). Since 2019, it had been controlled by the Venezuelan opposition, which claimed to be the legitimate representative of the Venezuelan state.
Up to 15 creditors have been litigating for eight years to claim nearly $19 billion in US courts as compensation for the expropriation of assets and debt defaults in Venezuela. Citgo generated between $700 million and $1.2 billion annually and was the main source of liquid foreign currency for the Venezuelan government.
