KARACHI: A court in the Cayman Islands ordered the appointment of joint provisional liquidators for orderly restructuring of the Middle East’s biggest private equity firm Abraaj Holdings, the company said on Tuesday.
“The court, in session on Monday 18 June 2018 made an order appointing Simon Conway of PwC Corporate Finance and Recovery (Cayman) Limited and Michael Jervis and Mohammed Farzadi of PricewaterhouseCoopers as joint provisional liquidators (JPLs) of Abraaj Holdings,” Abraaj said in a statement.
The court also approved an application by Abraaj Investment Management Limited to appoint David Soden and Stuart Sybersma of Deloitte as JPLs of the fund management business.
“Subject to the final sealed order of the Cayman Court, this ensures that the rights of all stakeholders can be protected while the company and the JPLs promote a consensual restructuring of the company’s obligations,” the group added.
The board of Abraaj Holdings filed an application for its provisional liquidation last week following a dispute over the use of $1 billion healthcare fund emerged early this year between the firm and four of its investors. Joint provisional liquidator Jervis of PwC said the liquidation aims at to manage the restructuring of Abraaj Holdings “in an orderly fashion, safeguard the assets of the company, and ensure that the interests of creditors, employees and broader stakeholders are fully served”.
“The order by the court enables the company to swiftly move into a stable phase of operations whereby restructuring plans and asset disposals can be executed upon in a protected and controlled environment,” the statement quoted him as saying.
Arif Naqvi, founder of the Abraaj Group said the court’s order validates the position maintained by the company that an orderly restructuring, under the guidance of a highly experienced team of joint provisional liquidators, “can ensure the outcomes we seek for the company and its creditors”.
“We are wholly committed to supporting the JPLs through this process and ensuring stability and value maximisation for all parties,” he said. Naqvi founded Abraaj with $60 million in 2002 and built it into an emerging market’s leading fund with assets of $13.6 billion.
Reuters reports from Abu Dhabi: An Abu Dhabi Financial Group company has made a conditional $50 million offer to buy Abraaj’s investment management business, a document reviewed by Reuters shows.
Abu Dhabi Capital Management’s (ADCM) bid is well below the $125 million offered by New York-based Cerberus Capital Management before Abraaj filed for provisional liquidation.
It was unclear whether the terms of the offer that Cerberus made were different from the one made by ADCM.
ADCM stated its terms in a letter to Abraaj’s financial adviser Houlihan Lokey dated June 17, which said it will not buy any companies owned by Dubai-based Abraaj and its affiliates and will not assume any liabilities. ADCM, an ADFG entity based in Cayman Islands, wants to become the General Partner of the limited partnerships, which have committed money to Abraaj’s various private equity funds. Abraaj acts as the general partner for these limited partnerships.