Lazard Challenges Centerview Bid to Advise Venezuela on Landmark Debt Restructuring

June 15, 2026

Mintesinot Nigussie

Lazard has made a late bid of 25 million US dollars to replace Centerview Partners as financial adviser to Venezuela, escalating competition over a mandate at the centre of one of the largest sovereign debt restructurings in recent history.

The offer comes as Venezuela advances efforts to restructure about 60 billion US dollars in defaulted bonds tied to the sovereign and state oil company PDVSA, within a broader liability profile that analysts estimate could exceed 150 billion US dollars when arbitration awards and accrued interest are included.

According to Reuters, Lazard is positioning its proposal as a lower-cost alternative, arguing that Venezuela does not need to significantly overpay for high-level restructuring expertise.

Centerview Partners, which was appointed in May 2026 after Caracas launched its restructuring process, has pushed back on scrutiny over its proposed terms. In a statement to Reuters, the firm said its engagement would be based on market rates and that “speculation to the contrary is false.”

Centerview’s proposed structure reportedly included a monthly retainer of 750,000 US dollars and a success fee of 0.1 percent of the total debt restructured, implying a total fee range of roughly 150 million to 200 million US dollars.

The initial appointment of Centerview without a formal competitive process has drawn questions from investors and officials over transparency, even as the move briefly lifted Venezuelan bond prices.

Venezuela is undertaking one of the world’s most complex sovereign debt restructurings, having defaulted in 2017 under former President Nicolás Maduro. The process is expected to determine the scale of creditor write-downs and the long-term sustainability of the country’s public finances.

The selected adviser will play a central role in shaping restructuring strategy, coordinating negotiations with creditors and defining the framework for potential debt relief, with implications for Venezuela’s eventual return to international capital markets.