Borse Dubai is to receive over $1bn from the UAE federal government to avoid the company having to default on a $2.5bn loan it is trying to refinance.
Sources close to the deal say that the refinancing, led by HSBC, has only managed to secure $1.25bn of commitments from commercial banks, although some further commitments from banks could bring the final bank tranche to $1.5bn.
To avoid a funding shortfall arising in the deal, a federal government institution will supply the additional financing, meaning that Borse Dubai will be able to make the repayment scheduled for 23 February.
It is unclear which institution will provide the funding.
Borse Dubai originally raised $3.5bn in March 2008 in a short-term deal to finance its acquisition of Nordic exchange operator OMX.
The problems in international banking markets since then led the company to seek a reduced refinancing of only $2.5bn, but even offering banks margins starting as high as 325 basis points over the London interbank offered rate (Libor) failed to attract enough interest to cover the full debt.
Dubai government-related companies are estimated to have about $18bn of debt to refinance during the course of 2009, beginning with the Borse Dubai deal and ending with a $3.5bn Nakheel sukuk.
Borse Dubai was unavailable for comment.
Author: Matthew Martin. Senior Gulf Correspondent
Dubai
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