Dubai's Damas says completed $872 mln debt restructuring

Dubai’s Damas says completed $872 mln debt restructuring

Company reached 100 pct restructuring – CEO; Says facility agreement also reached with banks

March 28, 2011 3:57 by Reuters

Middle East jeweller Damas International said on Monday it has reached a final agreement with all its lenders and completed the restructuring of its $872 million debt.
“The financial restructuring is done,” its chief executive Anan Fakhreddin told Reuters over the telephone from Riyadh.
“We’ve reached 100 percent restructuring of our debt.”
The Dubai-based jeweller has been in talks with banks to restructure its debt. The 25 banks involved in the restructuring include Barclays and BNP Paribas.
Fakhreddin said while a restructuring deal had been reached there was still no settlement on the cascade agreement it is negotiating with its founders, the Abdullah brothers.
The jeweller said in October that it had agreed with its founders, the Abdullah brothers, that they owe the company a total of 614 million dirhams ($167.2 million), that included 256 million dirhams worth of gold that the three brothers had withdrawn from the company.
The repayment by the brothers was extended until March 31.
In a statement to Nasdaq Dubai, the company said it received signatures from all 25 banks for the facility agreement.
“Damas is in the process of satisfying the conditions precedent to the facility agreement and hopes to complete the process shortly,” said the statement.
(Reporting by Amran Abocar; Editing by Firouz Sedarat)