Tuwairqi signs $1.9bn restructuring deal
Dubai, June 13, 2011
Saudi steelmaker Al-Tuwairqi Group has signed a $1.9 billion debt restructuring of bank loans, London-based Meed said, citing anonymous bank lenders.
Final documentation for the restructuring has been signed by a group of 26 banks including National Commercial Bank, National Bank of Kuwait and Standard Chartered.
Restructuring details were not disclosed but banks are not taking a haircut on the principal loans made to the company.
'This is probably the largest debt restructuring to have been completed so far in Saudi Arabia, so it is a significant achievement,' one Riyadh-based banker told Meed.
Executives at Al-Tuwairqi were not immediately available to comment.
The restructuring has been in the works since late 2008 after an Al-Tuwairqi unit -- Al-Ittefaq Steel Products -- took a hit from a sharp drop in steel prices.
HSBC was hired in 2009 to advise the company on the restructuring. – Reuters