Thursday, Mar 15, 2012
By Marietta Cauchi
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
LONDON (Dow Jones)--Bahrain-based Arcapita Bank is up against several challenges as it races to get a refinancing deal done before a $1.1 billion loan repayment falls due March 28, people familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday.
Arcapita, a private equity investor with a global portfolio, just recently hired Rothschild, KPMG and law firm Linklaters to advise on the repayment. It is working with the creditor committee, chaired by Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (RBS) and including four other banks as well as U.S. hedge fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management.
While the members of the committee are working to try and agree a restructuring, a second, London-based hedge fund, which also holds debt in Arcapita, refused to be on the committee and is displaying more aggressive tactics, the people said.
The main issue facing Arcapita, which is seeking a three-year extension to the loan repayment, is the value of the pool of portfolio of companies it is offering as collateral for the debt and how easy it would be to sell those assets over a limited period, the people said.
Arcapita invests across four business lines including private equity, real estate, infrastructure and venture capital and its global portfolio is currently valued at $2.3 billion. The firm co-invests alongside its investors in all its deals.
-By Marietta Cauchi, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9241; marietta.cauchi@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
15-03-12 1607GMT
