Dana Gas default - first for a Sukok Trust or Islamic bond....

http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/11/05/1246141/a-dana-gas-default/

A Dana Gas default

David Keohane | Nov 05 18:34 | 1 comment | 

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From Bloomberg earlier on Monday:

*DANA ASKS HOLDERS TO CONFIRM WISH FOR SUKUK TRUST DISSOLUTION

*DANA GAS SAYS ‘DISSOLUTION EVENT HAS OCCURRED’ ON SUKUK

Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) — Co. asks certificate holders to confirm whether they wish for the trust to be dissolved, according to statement carried by the regulatory news service.

That notice, says Exotix’s Gus Chehayeb, officially confirms that a technical default has occurred on Dana’s $920m Islamic bond, and that there was no official standstill agreement in place.

The default could also be a first for UAE public bonds.

This one has been rumbling for a while. Sources previously told FT beyondbrics that creditors including Blackrock and Ashmore had agreed to a standstill agreement that would allow talks over extending the maturity of its $920m sukuk to continue. The bond matured on October 31. As beyondbrics reported:

People close to Dana Gas believe creditors will continue to talk beyond October 31 as calling a default and seeking to recover assets in locations such as Egypt could trigger the revocation of production licenses.

[...]

The company argues its problems stem from cash flow rather than any structural issues in its core business. Delayed payments in Egypt and Kurdistan are starting to speed up, it points out.

Dana Gas, which holds around 9 per cent of the sukuk, has since January been in talks with leading bondholders such as Blackrock and Ashmore, which together hold more than 50 per cent, enough to forge consensus on any proposed restructuring.

Earlier on Monday, Reuters had reported that Dana was unaware of any action from bondholders against the company:

“With reference to recent media reports that Dana Gas’ sukuk holders will pursue enforcement action against the company, Dana Gas confirms that it has no knowledge of such action and that discussions with the adhoc committee of sukukholders continue to progress constructively,” Dana said in a statement.

No dice, says Chehayeb:

At this point unclear whether discussion have fallen apart or whether Sukuk holders intend to go after Dana Gas’ assets. It takes a 25% vote to dissolve the sukuk and order immediate payment from Dana. If an immediate payment is not made, it’s a race for the Egyptian and UAE assets.