Dubai-based private equity firm Abraaj has filed for provisional liquidation in the Cayman Islands in order to facilitate a $1 billion debt restructuring.
The region’s biggest buyout firm has been badly hit by complaints from large investors over its running of a $1 billion healthcare fund.
Sean Cleary, chairman of the Abraaj Holdings Board, called the move “a defining moment for everyone associated with Abraaj” and stated that it will stabilise the firm’s recent troubles and allow it to “move forward to meet the firm’s commitments and restore confidence to the platform”.
Abraaj has also asked for the Cayman court to appoint provisional liquidators who will impose a “moratorium on the enforcement of unsecured claims against the company”.
Creditors including US-based private equity firm Auctus Fund and a Kuwaiti pension fund, the Kuwait Public Institution for Social Security, have petitioned for Abraaj to be wound down due to unpaid debts. Meanwhile Abraaj’s plan, which it says is supported by secured creditors, is to sell $1 billion of its assets and fund stakes to repay investors and other creditors.
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