By admin 
Investment bank Lazard is making a late bid of $25 million to replace Centerview Partners as Venezuela’s financial advisor for one of the largest-ever sovereign debt restructurings, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday.
Read more Trump says Israeli strike on Lebanon should not have happened, but Iran deal close
“Given Lazard’s experience in sovereign advisory, it believes that the Venezuela government does not need to significantly overpay for world-class restructuring advice,” the source said.
The bid was earlier reported by Bloomberg News.
Lazard’s fee is a fraction of the at least $150 million Centerview was negotiating with the government as recently as last month, Bloomberg reported.
Lazard declined to comment, while Venezuela’s Ministry of Communication and Information did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Centerview said in a statement to Reuters that the terms of their engagement will be based on market rates, and that “speculation to the contrary is false”.
Caracas in May said it hired U.S.-headquartered financial services firm Centerview after launching a restructuring of its sovereign debt and that of state oil firm PDVSA, lifting bond prices.
Read more Protesters set Tesla ablaze, smash UN office’s windows in Geneva anti-G7 march
Centerview had discussed a monthly retainer of $750,000 and a success fee of 0.1% of the total debt amount restructured, equating to a price of $150 million to $200 million, the Bloomberg report said, citing a draft contract.
However, Reuters earlier reported that the appointment of Centerview without a formal competitive process has raised questions among investors and officials about fairness and transparency.
Venezuela is one of the world’s largest sovereign default cases, with the sovereign and PDVSA totaling about $60 billion in defaulted bonds outstanding. Analysts estimate total liabilities, including arbitration awards and accrued interest, could exceed $150 billion.
Venezuela’s adviser will be tasked with hammering out the government’s financial strategy and leading talks on its debt, which the country defaulted on under former President Nicolas Maduro in 2017. At stake are billions of dollars Venezuela owes to creditors earmarked for a writedown, whose size will be crucial in determining the sustainability of the country’s finances and its economic health.
(Reporting by Chandni Shah and Abu Sultan in Bengaluru; Additional Reporting by Vivian Sequera in Caracas; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Chizu Nomiyama)
Read more Authorities investigate fatal drowning of a man in North Tahoe
Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
This story was originally published June 14, 2026 at 10:02 AM.