Abu Dhabi's Mubadala holding in Tabreed climbs to 26 per cent

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala holding in Tabreed climbs to 26 per cent

Mubadala stake in Tabreed increased to 26 per cent from 16.79 per cent, following Tabreed securing $844.2 million funding from Mubadala to help with its debt.

May 22, 2011 11:18 by Reuters

Abu Dhabi’s state-owned fund Mubadala now holds a majority 26.1 percent stake in district cooling firm Tabreed after completion of a tender offer of shares to repay an Islamic bond due this month, Tabreed said on Sunday.

Mubadala and its wholly-owned subsidiary General investments FZE previously held a 16.79 per cent stake in Tabreed, a company spokesman said.

In a statement to the bourse on Sunday, Tabreed said it has completed an issuance of 415.68 million shares to repay the 1.7 billion dirhams ($463 million) convertible Islamic bond, or sukuk.

The Abu-Dhabi based company said the tender offer, which is part of its recapitalisation program, covers both principle and coupon payments.

Tabreed, also known as the National Cooling Co, is among a number of Gulf companies which had to restructure its debt after the end of the region’s economic boom.

In March, the firm secured an extra 3.1 billion dirhams ($844.2 million) funding from state-owned fund Mubadala, helping it to tackle its debt pile.

With the conversion of the Islamic trust certificates into shares, Mubadala now has a 14.8 percent stake in the firm while General Investments FZE holds an 11.29 percent statek in Tabreed.

It appointed the chief operating officer of Mubadala as its new chairman in a board reshuffle earlier in May. (Reporting by Shaheen Pasha; Editing by Andrew Hammond)