Damas delays $163 mln repayment by founders again

Damas delays $163 mln repayment by founders again

May 1, 2011 4:04 by Reuters

Jeweller Damas International said on Sunday that it has extended the payment date for 600 million dirhams ($163.4 million) owed by its founders, the Abdullah brothers, by another month.

The deadline is now May 31, Damas said, adding that an agreement with the brothers to liquidate certain assets to repay the company had been approved by all but one bank creditor so far. Damas did not name the lender.

Last month, the Dubai-based jeweller extended the payment date to April 30 to give more time for parties involved in the the agreement to sign up.

“The company believes that this final bank creditor is in the process of obtaining internal approval and will sign the Cascade Agreement shortly,” Damas said in the statement.

The jeweller said earlier this year that it reached a final agreement with all its lenders and completed the restructuring of its $872 million debt.

An inquiry last year showed that the Abdullah brothers owed 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of 614 million dirhams ($167.2 million), that included 256 million dirhams worth of gold that the three brothers had withdrawn from the company.

Damas is primarily involved in the business of trading in gold and gold jewellery, diamond jewellery, pearls, watches, silver and precious stones on a wholesale and retail basis. (Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Amran Abocar)