A group representing holders of Senegal’s international sovereign bonds has chosen restructuring consultancy Alvarez & Marsal as their financial adviser for ongoing debt treatment talks with the government, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The West African nation announced plans to rework its debt last month in order to secure a $2.2 billion bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund.
Pressure has been mounting on Senegal to take action and return its debt to a sustainable trajectory since a misreported debt revelation in 2024, with the liabilities later estimated by analysts at around $13 billion.
Separately, three different sources with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters that bondholders had sent a letter to the government warning that any requests for principal losses, known as “haircuts”, could significantly delay negotiations.
The letter, sent roughly 10 days ago in response to a government request that major creditor groups share their “red lines”, could complicate Senegal’s hopes for a quick debt rework.
The country told creditors during a call last week that it was targeting deals with official creditors and bondholders by December.
The bondholder group, whose legal representative is White & Case, holds bonds with $2.2 billion in face value out of $5.2 billion total outstanding bonds.
White & Case and Alvarez & Marsal did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.
