Investment Dar ‘not up for liquidation’

Kuwait, August 9, 2010

Kuwait's Investment Dar, which owns half of British carmaker Aston Martin, is not up for liquidation as it moves ahead with a restructuring plan, its chairman said on Monday.

'This company is not up for liquidation. If it were, we would have liquidated it a long time ago,' Adan al-Musallam told reporters after an extraordinary shareholders meeting.

He said the firm invested in hard assets and said he was confident Dar will 'make a strong comeback' after restructuring.

Investment Dar has been trying to restructure about KD1 billion ($3.49 billion) of debt. In March, it applied for support under a government facility set up for troubled companies.

Musallam said Lebanon's Blom Bank has agreed to join the restructuring plan despite a court case between the two firms, adding that Blom's investment in the firm was small.

Blom Bank sued Dar in a British court last year to recover $10.7 million it invested in the company in 2007, as well as a 5 per cent return promised in the terms of the Islamic contract.

Dar, however, refused to pay, arguing the deal was not sharia-compliant.

Dar said last year it had reached a deal with 80 per cent of its creditors. The government facility would help it get the consent of the rest of the creditors on its restructuring plan.

The firm has not announced its results for 2009. It plunged to a loss in the fourth quarter of 2008. – Reuters

Tags: Kuwait | Investment Dar | Sale | liquidation |