Abu Dhabi's Mubadala holding in Tabreed climbs to 26pc

DUBAI: Abu Dhabi's state owned fund Mubadala now holds a majority 26.1 percent stake in district cooling firm Tabreed after completion of a tender offer of shares to repay an Islamic bond due this month, Tabreed said on Sunday.

Mubadala and its wholly owned subsidiary General investments FZE previously held a 16.79 percent stake in Tabreed, a company spokesman said.

In a statement to the bourse on Sunday, Tabreed said it has completed an issuance of 415.68 million shares to repay the 1.7 billion dirhams ($463 million) convertible Islamic bond, or sukuk.

The Abu-Dhabi based company said the tender offer, which is part of its recapitalisation program, covers both principle and coupon payments.

Tabreed, also known as the National Cooling Co, is among a number of Gulf companies which had to restructure its debt after the end of the region's economic boom.

In March, the firm secured an extra 3.1 billion dirhams ($844.2 million) funding from state owned fund Mubadala, helping it to tackle its debt pile.

With the conversion of the Islamic trust certificates into shares, Mubadala now has a 14.8 percent stake in the firm while General Investments FZE holds an 11.29 percent statek in Tabreed.

It appointed the chief operating officer of Mubadala as its new chairman in a board reshuffle earlier in May.

Copyright Reuters, 2011