A consortium led by the United Arab Emirates financial firm, SHUAA Capital, has bought 1.13 billion dirhams ($308 million) of debt held by Stanford Marine Group (SMG) as part of its restructuring, the companies said on Sunday.
The plan has helped save more than 1,800 jobs and annual exports of close to $20 million worth of UAE-manufactured vessels at the ultramodern Grandweld shipyard’s facility in Dubai Maritime City.
The debt buyout has supported banks in exiting a distressed debt situation with a cash recovery.
The Dubai-based Stanford Marine Group (SMG) is a diversified offshore services company in the Middle East, with a focus on chartering, building and repairing offshore support vessels for the oil and gas industry.
The firm’s debt problems stemmed from a $325 million Islamic loan agreed in 2015 provided by a group of banks including Noor Bank - which has since been acquired by Dubai Islamic Bank - Barwa Bank, Ajman Bank, United Arab Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank and First Gulf Bank - now part of First Abu Dhabi Bank.
“Despite the COVID-19 lockdowns last year, we continued to lead discussions with the SMG lenders’ advisors and worked collaboratively to reflect the changing needs of the consortium while finding a viable solution that worked in the best interest of all parties involved,” said CEO of SHUAA Capital Jassim Alseddiqi.
“We are proud to have achieved so much with this deal – from supporting banks to exit a distressed debt situation with a cash recovery, to retaining jobs of employees and sailors and sustaining their livelihoods, and finally ensuring continuity of SMG business and its contribution to the local economy.”
“SHUAA Capital has managed to pull off a complex restructuring program effectively giving the company a new lease of life,” said Elias Nassif, chief executive of SMG.
