Dubai’s Limitless Seeks More Time After Missed Debt Talks Deadline

Limitless, a Dubai government-related real estate developer, has asked for a three-month extension to talks with creditors after failing to secure a new restructuring on its $1.2 billion debt pile, four banking sources told Reuters on Thursday.

The company, which has already restructured the debt once before after falling victim to the emirate’s property crash at the end of the past decade, is aiming to secure another two years’ grace before having to start repaying its obligations, one of the sources added.

Limitless has been in talks with creditors for nearly a year and in November floated a tentative proposal backed by future cashflows, which it hoped to seal before a $400 million payment came due on Dec. 31.

Despite the passing of the Dec. 31 deadline, a second source said that the long period of the talks to renegotiate terms and the request for an extension prior to the deadline meant Limitless was not technically in default.

Some banks have agreed to extend the negotiations and others are considering the request, two of the sources said.

Private discussions with creditors continue, a spokeswoman for Limitless said, declining to elaborate. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is not public.

CREDITOR COMMITTEE

The extension will allow for the continuation of talks between Limitless and a six-member creditor committee of Arab National Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, Mashreq, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Silver Point Capital.

Deloitte has been appointed adviser and Clifford Chance as legal adviser by the creditor committee.

The current proposal will see repayments scheduled into three equal chunks between 2016 and 2018, backed by future cash flow including the sale of assets or rental income from projects under construction in the Jebel Ali area of Dubai, the first source said.

This is instead of between 2014 and 2016 under the existing restructuring, which has no such collateral backing. That deal was agreed in 2012 after multiple extensions to the original maturity date of March 2010.