North Africa/Middle East

Abraaj, the Middle East’s biggest private equity firm, has filed a petition in the Cayman Islands, asking the court to appoint PwC as provisional liquidators for the embattled company, Reuters reported. “The appointment of provisional liquidators imposes a moratorium on the enforcement of all unsecured claims against the company, allowing time for a proposal to be put to creditors for the orderly restructuring of the company,” it said in a statement.

In a related story, Reuters reported that a family involved with Abraaj handed over debt exposure to the private equity firm to a little-known fund that has now filed a petition against Abraaj, deepening its financial woes, sources said. An adviser to the Jafar family said the family was not party to the legal proceedings started by Auctus Fund in the Cayman Islands against Abraaj, although Hamid Jafar had provided Abraaj with a private loan which has since been transferred to Auctus. Dubai-based Abraaj has declined to comment on the petition.

A creditor of Dubai-based Abraaj has started legal proceedings in the Cayman Islands seeking the restructuring of the private equity firm’s liabilities, Reuters reported. Auctus is the second creditor, after Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS), to start legal action in the Cayman Islands, where Abraaj Holdings is registered. In a statement to Reuters from its representatives, legal firm Kobre & Kim, Auctus Fund Ltd. said it has filed an application that seeks the appointment of “court-approved professionals in the Cayman Islands” to manage the restructuring process.

A large creditor of Abraaj Group wants a Cayman Islands court to oversee the debt restructuring of the private-equity firm, adding more legal pressure on a once-rising star of the Middle East investment world, The Wall Street Journal reported. In documents filed Friday in the Cayman Islands court system, private-debt specialist Auctus Fund Ltd. said Abraaj’s holding company and its private-equity unit owes it about $300 million.

Abraaj dipped into investor funds because of cash shortages at the group, but there is no evidence of embezzlement, a forensic review of two funds at the struggling private equity firm by Deloitte has found, the Financial Times reported. The emerging-markets specialist suffered from a “lack of adequate governance, including segregation of duties, and the overall weakness in the control framework,” according to briefing notes prepared last week for creditors and seen by the Financial Times.

Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security is seeking the liquidation of Abraaj Holdings as creditors step up pressure on the Dubai-based buyout firm that’s facing allegations of misused funds, Bloomberg News reported. The fund filed a petition in the Cayman Islands for the liquidation and winding up of Abraaj Holdings after the firm defaulted on a $100 million loan that was due on June 3, the Public Institution for Social Security said in a statement. The fund holds a stake in Abraaj Holdings and had provided $731.8 million in loans and investments by 2013, it said.

Franklin Templeton Investments has cut back its debt holdings in Bahrain, citing the “very serious” threat that the cash-strapped nation will experience an economic crisis in the next 12 months if financial aid from neighbors doesn’t come through, Bloomberg News reported. Templeton’s exposure is “much reduced today” because the government seems to lack a credible reform plan, according to Mohieddine Kronfol, the firm’s chief investment officer for global sukuk and Middle East and North Africa fixed income.

Jordan’s Prime Minister Hani Mulki resigned Monday after thousands protested in recent days against his government’s plan to increase taxes, causing uncertainty in a country that is a vital U.S. ally in the region, The Wall Street Journal reported. King Abdullah II has accepted the resignation of Mr. Mulki’s government, Jordan’s Royal Court said. The king thanked the prime minister in a statement for his service and dedication in making difficult and unpopular decisions. The resignation appears aimed at alleviating tensions after intensifying calls for Mr.

Abraaj Group, which has been roiled by allegations of misused funds, will meet shareholders and lenders on Monday to discuss the restructuring of the Dubai-based asset manager, Bloomberg News reported. Chief Executive Officer and founder Arif Naqvi and other senior managers will update stakeholders on the talks with potential acquirers of its asset-management business, ongoing deals and media speculation, Abraaj said in a statement. The Middle East’s biggest buyout firm is facing growing concern about its viability amid impending loan repayments and greater regulator scrutiny.

A Saudi conglomerate can’t collect damages from a former manager it blamed for a multibillion-dollar fraud against 100 banks because the family-owned company was complicit in the scheme, a Cayman Islands court ruled. The 1,348-page ruling issued Thursday strikes at the heart of a dramatic, decade-long family feud over Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Brothers Co., known as AHAB, whose 2009 default was among the largest of the global credit crisis, Bloomberg News reported.