Property firm owned by Abu Dhabi royals pulls $350 million sukuk

DUBAI (Reuters) -A $350 million sukuk deal from Private Department of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan LLC (PD), a relatively small real estate player in Abu Dhabi owned by members of its ruling family, was pulled late on Wednesday, financial sources said.

PD had been seeking up to $600 million and would most likely have had the outlook on its ‘Ba1’ Moody’s rating changed to negative from stable had the deal priced at the $350 million size, three of the sources said, two of them adding it likely faced a downgrade.

“It was the decision of the Private Department of Sh. Mohammed bin Khalid Al Nahyan to cancel the transaction as the proceeds received did not match with the plan and vision of the Private Department as explained to the potential investors,” the company said in response to a Reuters request for comment.

Moody’s declined to comment.

In a note seen by Reuters that was sent to investors just before midnight, after allocations were out, the company said it had decided not to proceed with the offering and it would revisit the fundraising plans “at an appropriate time, subject to market conditions”.

The firm’s total debt was 2.17 billion dirhams ($590.86 million) at the end of 2020, an investor presentation reviewed by Reuters for the sukuk showed.

“I think the rating was predicated on them having a little bit extra for additional spending,” one of the sources said, adding if the company did not have enough cash for its projects, that would clearly impact its credit assessment.

Emirates NBD Capital and First Abu Dhabi Bank were hired to coordinate the transaction, and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank and Mashreq were also involved in the deal.

Bond deals are rarely cancelled, and there have only been sporadic episodes among Gulf issuers in the past few years, as investor demand is generally high due to the high yields these transactions offer.

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