Standstill? We don't need no stinking standstill

* username: rupertbu

As dozens of accountants sift through Dubai World's financial records in a race to determine how best to restructure as much as $22bn in debts, the company appears to be pursuing a new strategy to ensure it can win a deal from creditors before facing any major repayment demands, according to sources close to the company and its banks.

It now hopes to convince creditors to agree on how to restructure its debts before an April 30 deadline without necessarily first getting them to sign a standstill agreement on debt. "A standstill is nice to have, but it's not essential," a source close to Dubai World, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told me.

Getting a standstill agreement from creditors has been a key condition of Dubai World's restructuring efforts since Nov. 25, when Dubai 's Government appointed an outside accountant to run the process. A standstill would essentially prevent creditors from declaring Dubai World if it missed a payment while it was still negotiating a restructuring of its debts with creditors.