Dubai's largest lender, Emirates NBD, has engaged the services of six major banking institutions to arrange a subordinated bond sale for the company. This decision was confirmed by four individuals familiar with the plan to reduce government support for its capital ratio.
The banks included in the transaction are HSBC Holdings, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Citigroup Inc, JP Morgan Chase and Societe Generale. A sale would help the lending firm to pay back the 12.6 billion dirhams it received from the government at the height of the worldwide financial crisis. The money given was in exchange for 55.6% ownership over the company.
It is projected that the benchmark valuation would be at the very least US$500 million. Previously, ENBD sold US$50 million in subordinated bond sale in a privately placed auction, IFR Markets, a division of Thomson Reuters. This has become a familiar tact by UAE banks in utilizing internal cash sources to pay off government doleouts.
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