Lawsuit against crown prince's firm settled - Sources

Lawsuit against crown prince’s firm settled – Sources

Zabeel, owned by Crown Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed al-Maktoum and which once had stakes in Sony Corp and planemaker EADS, owes approximately 6 billion dirhams to mostly local banks.

October 9, 2012 3:21 by M. Aldalou

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) has settled a $107.13-million legal claim it filed against indebted Zabeel Investments, which is owned by the crown price of Dubai, two sources said.

ADCB sued last month saying Zabeel, which has hospitality, property and private equity assets, had failed to meet repayment obligations. The case was filed in the Dubai International Financial Centre’s (DIFC) court.

“They settled the full amount that they filed for at the DIFC,” said one source familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Zabeel, owned by Crown Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed al-Maktoum and which once had stakes in Sony Corp and planemaker EADS, owes approximately 6 billion dirhams to mostly local banks. Talks on restructuring the debt ground to a halt in January.

A Dubai government official confirmed last week that state-owned Dubai Real Estate Corp. (DREC) had taken over the management of Zabeel and would lead debt talks.

A DREC spokeswoman declined to comment. ADCB officials were not immediately available for comment.

Last week, a local newspaper reported Zabeel had reached a $956-million debt deal with lenders, citing an unnamed senior banking source.

ADCB’s move marked the second time in a month a creditor resorted to the courts to recover debt from a company owned by the emirates top royals. Earlier in September, three of Dubai Group’s lenders began legal proceedings against the investment firm, part of the ruler of Dubai’s personal business empire.