US Supreme Court denies Petersen hearing, further Burford sale of Petersen interests

Burford Capital Limited (“Burford Capital” or “Burford” or “the Company”), the leading global finance and investment management firm focused on law, announces that the US Supreme Court has declined to hear Argentina’s and YPF’s appeals in the Petersen case, with the result that the lower court decisions finding jurisdiction for Petersen’s claims in the US are now final. The Petersen case will now return to the trial court for merits proceedings. This continues an unbroken string of victories for the Petersen case in the courts. While we are pleased with this decision, it is important to emphasise that this decision relates purely to a preliminary jurisdictional question and does not foreshadow any particular result in the underlying litigation.

Although the Supreme Court’s decision is a matter of public record, Burford has issued this announcement as a matter of convenience. However, Burford does not intend to regularly issue such releases for other interlocutory steps in the proceedings, of which there are likely to be many before a final resolution.

Burford also announces that it has sold a further 10% of its entitlement in the Petersen matter into the secondary market it has been developing, leaving Burford with 61.25% of its original entitlement. The sale price was $100 million, implying a value of $1 billion for Burford’s entire original Petersen entitlement. Burford has now generated $236 million in proceeds from Petersen sales. As the market value of the Petersen matter has continued to rise (and as Burford also has further exposure to YPF-related claims through the Company’s investment in the parallel Eton Park matter), reducing Burford’s total holding and locking in significant profits represents prudent portfolio management. However, Burford has committed always to hold at least 50.1% of its original economic entitlement in the Petersen matter. The sale was to 11 institutional investors and was significantly over-subscribed. Including prior purchasers, there are now approximately 40 institutional investors participating in the Petersen secondary market.

Burford will consider the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision and further secondary market trading activity as part of its investment valuation process for the six months ended 30 June 2019. Our valuation process is discussed in detail in our annual reports.

The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company is Elizabeth O’Connell, Chief Financial Officer.

About Burford Capital

Burford Capital is the leading global finance and investment management firm focused on law. Its businesses include litigation finance and risk management, asset recovery and a wide range of legal finance and advisory activities. Burford is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange, and it works with law firms and clients around the world from its principal offices in New York, London, Chicago, Washington, Singapore and Sydney.

For more information about Burford: www.burfordcapital.com. 

This release does not constitute an offer of any Burford fund. Burford Capital Investment Management LLC (“BCIM”), which acts as the fund manager of all Burford funds, is registered as an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The information provided herein is for informational purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The information contained herein is not, and should not be construed as, an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities (including, without limitation, interests or shares in the funds). Any such offer or solicitation may be made only by means of a final confidential Private Placement Memorandum and other offering documents.