Saudi Binladin Group hires adviser to restructure $15bln in debt

LONDON: Saudi Binladin Group has hired investment bank Houlihan Lokey Inc. to help advise on the restructuring of an estimated $15 billion of debt.

The Los Angeles-based bank will help formulate “a comprehensive review and financial restructuring of SBG’s capital structure,” Bloomberg reported, citing a statement from Binladin International Holding Group.

The restructuring of the Kingdom’s biggest builder aims to reorganize its assets into sector-led businesses, streamline its operations, and ramp up activity across key projects and businesses, the news wire said.

For decades Binladin was Saudi Arabia’s highest profile construction group, delivering major infrastructure projects such as roads and airports as well as working in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

However it was heavily exposed to the construction slowdown in the country which followed in the wake of the 2014 oil price collapse which saw construction spending slow across the region.