One of Saudi Arabia’s largest and longest debt sagas, ongoing for nearly 12 years, is set to finally reach a resolution.
Saudi Arabia’s Algosaibi family’s conglomerate AHAB and its creditors have submitted a debt restructuring proposal to the Dammam commercial court this week after approval from a creditor committee, Reuters reports.
The move paves the way for creditors to receive 7.25 billion riyals ($1.93 billion) in settlements, corresponding to about 26% of total approved debt claims worth 27.5 billion riyals ($7.33 billion), according to Reuters, which cited Simon Charlton, chief restructuring officer and acting chief executive of AHAB.
According to the report, a bankruptcy judge is expected to indicate within 60 days a date for a creditor vote, and distributions could follow soon. Creditors have been pursuing AHAB and Saad Group, a Saudi conglomerate owned by tycoon Maan al-Sanea, since they defaulted on about $22 billion in combined debt in 2009, according to Reuters.
The Algosaibis and Sanea – who married into the Algosaibi family – have been locked into a bitter dispute over who was to blame for the 2009 collapse of the companies. Both sides deny wrongdoing, but the demise of the two companies nonetheless left dozens of local and international banks with billions of dollars of unpaid debt.
[Click here to read the full report from Reuters]
