Dubai's GGICO signs debt restructuring deal

Dubai’s GGICO signs debt restructuring deal

GGICO signs debt restructuring with 25 lenders; Debt extended for 7 years, no amount given; Co has investments in manufacturing, industrials and retail

July 3, 2012 11:40 by Reuters

Dubai-based Gulf General Investments Co (GGICO) reached a restructuring deal with 25 of its creditors to extend debt maturities, the company said on Tuesday, bringing an 18-month process to a conclusion.

The firm, which has investments in manufacturing, industrials and retail under its umbrella, has delayed its debt repayments for seven years through new amortising facilities, it said in a filing to the Dubai bourse.

The total figure of debt extended was not disclosed in the statement, although its first-quarter results said GGICO had 782.7 million dirhams ($213.1 million) of pending loans which the company had requested to be pushed out.

HSBC Holdings was the financial adviser to GGICO and Al Tamimi & Co acting as its legal adviser, with Allen & Overy the law firm working with the banks, the statement said.

GGICO began addressing its debt pile in early 2011 as part of a wider review of its business model, the statement added. The firm’s financial results for 2010 said at the time it had defaulted on debt worth 248.8 million dirhams during the course of 2010.

Shares in the company have risen 53 percent year-to-date on the Dubai bourse.

($1 = 3.6730 UAE dirhams)

(Reporting by David French; Editing by Dinesh Nair)