Abraaj Group, the private equity company in Dubai roiled by allegations of misusing funds, met key stakeholders and creditors on Monday to discuss the potential sale of its investment management business and the ongoing restructuring of the troubled company.
The private meeting included "shareholders, lenders and other invited parties, interested in the restructuring of Abraaj Holdings specifically, and other group entities more generally", the company said.
The purpose of the meeting was “to maintain a constructive dialogue with the group’s creditors and make further orderly progress, in the interests of all stakeholders, towards a consensual resolution of all outstanding issues”, Abraaj said.
A spokesman for the company declined to identify meeting participants, but said all the group creditors were attending. Senior management, including the group's chief executive Arif Naqvi and the company's advisers, updated stakeholders on the progress of discussions with potential buyers of the Abraaj Investment Management business, according to the company statement.
Sale of the funds management business along with the company’s stakes in various companies, such as Pakistani Utility K-electric, are among the measures which would help resolve potential liquidity problems, Abraaj told creditors in an earlier meeting, according to a Bloomberg report.
Colony NorthStar, however, ended talks to buy a majority stake in Abraaj's fund-management unit after its due diligence efforts raised concerns about the company, Bloomberg reported, citing sources. Cerberus Capital Management is still in discussions and is carrying out its own due diligence.
The Middle East's biggest buyout company, which at its peak had more than $13.6 billion (Dh49.96bn) of assets under management, is reeling from allegations of misusing funds in a healthcare investment vehicle that deployed capital from investors including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank's International Finance Corporation, Britain's CDC Group and Proparco Group of France.
The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times in February claimed some of the 24 investors in the $1bn Abraaj Growth Markets Health Fund (AGHF) had hired forensic accountants to investigate what had happened to some of the money invested in the fund.
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Read more:
Abraaj's Naqvi relinquishes control of funds business in major organisational shakeup
Abraaj says KPMG review finds no evidence of fund misuse
Abraaj denies misappropriating healthcare funds
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Abraaj at the time dismissed the reports as “inaccurate and misleading” and said unused capital in AGHF was returned in December following discussions with investors.
On February 8, the company said that a KPMG review of the company’s health fund found no misuse of funds and all payments and receipts were in order. The accounting firm however was later said to have carried out an internal review into its audits, according to a Bloomberg report in May.
The allegations of misuse have snowballed and the company founded by Mr Naqvi in 2002 is now reorganising its structure. It has subsequently returned capital in a new global fund, and has delayed an initial public offering or sale of its North African hospitals business, and pared about 15 per cent of its total workforce.
As part of the reorganisation efforts, Mr Naqvi ceded control of the fund management unit in February and the company decided to temporarily suspend deployment of capital, other than on transactions for which commitments are already final, it said at the time without specifying how long the suspension will remain.
Abraaj on Monday said it would discuss “ongoing transactions and other matters” at the meeting with stakeholders, without specifying the agenda.
The company owes about $1bn in debt to creditors, according to a Reuters report.
Dubai’s Mashreq, Noor, Commercial Bank of Dubai and French lender Societe Generale are among the major creditors of the company, with Mashreq having the biggest exposure, according to media reports.
Houlihan Lokey is advising Abraaj on its debt and the sale of its investment management business. The co-chief executives of the investment management unit, Omar Lodhi and Selcuk Yorgancioglu, are also attending the meeting to provide their perspectives on the current status of the process, Abraaj said.
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
NBA FINALS SO FAR
(Toronto lead 3-2 in best-of-seven series)
Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109
Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109
Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123
Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105
Game 5 Raptors 105 Warriors 106
Game 6 Thursday, at Oakland
Game 7 Sunday, at Toronto (if needed)
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
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Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
More coverage from the Future Forum
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
