Davide Barbuscia
A committee of the holders of some $700 million in Islamic bonds issued by Dana Gas has appointed New York-based boutique investment bank Moelis and U.S. legal firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges to negotiate restructuring of the notes, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
With a cash balance of around $300 million at end-March and the sukuk due to mature in October this year, the Abu Dhabi-listed energy producer said earlier this month that it intended to hold discussions with its creditors.
Dana and Moelis declined to comment on Wednesday. Dana has not yet appointed an adviser for the restructuring, said a source close to the company.
Dana's sukuk, issued in 2013, comprise convertible paper with a 7 percent profit rate and non-convertible sukuk with a 9 percent profit rate.
The 7 percent paper has stabilised at a cash price of 86 cents on the dollar since mid-March and has become illiquid since then. The 9 percent sukuk, with a cash price of about 85 cents, was yielding 51 percent on Wednesday.
Dana has faced a cash shortage caused by a lack of payments from its assets in Egypt and Iraq's Kurdistan, due to political and economic instability as well as a legal dispute in Kurdistan. The company says it is owed receivables of roughly $1 billion by Egypt and the Kurdistan Regional Government.
(Reporting by Davide Barbuscia; Editing by Andrew Torchia)
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