Dubai Group sold a stake valued at as much as US$57 million in an Omani property and private equity company as it sells assets to help restructure debt.
Dubai Insurance Group, a unit of Dubai Group, sold a 41 per cent stake in Oman National Investment Corp to Oman Investment Fund, the country's sovereign wealth fund, the companies said in a joint statement, without disclosing the value of the transaction.
"This is a strategic decision for Dubai Insurance Group and is part of our stated plan to sell down assets in order to support our broader ongoing restructuring process," Dubai Group acting chief executive Fadel Al Ali said in the statement.
Dubai Group, controlled by Dubai Holding, is one of several companies in the emirate seeking to restructure loans as property and asset prices slumped and credit markets froze after the 2008 global credit crisis. Documentation is currently being worked on to conclude the total debt restructuring accord that includes about 35 lenders and $6 billion of loans, a banker familiar with the matter said earlier this month.
Dubai Group, which also owes another $4bn to shareholders, holds stakes in companies including Dubai-based investment bank Shuaa Capital, Cairo-based EFG-Hermes Holding and Bank Muscat, Oman's biggest bank by assets.
* Bloomberg News
