Arabtec, the Dubai-based contracting giant, is working with Moelis, the boutique investment bank, to study options for the company’s capital structure, it has been revealed.
Sources close to the matter told Reuters that the study was in its early stages and that Arabtec’s board had not yet decided on any specific action. A mandate for restructuring advisory firm AlixPartners to reduce overheads at Arabtec was completed at the end of 2016, the sources added, though they declined to be named as the information was not made public.
One of the sources said that Moelis was also expected to advise Arabtec about its balance sheet and liquidity ratio. The contractor did not respond to requests for comment, while a Moelis spokesperson could not be reached, Reuters said.
The board of Arabtec was scheduled to meet on February 12, according to a statement released on Dubai Financial Market. The company made a loss attributable to owners of the parent of $61.4 million in the third quarter of 2016, compared to $257.2 million posted a year earlier.
In January 2017, the contractor said that it had approved a “new group-wide enterprise risk management plan”. In November 2016, the Arabtec board had approved the appointment of Hamish Tyrwhitt as the company’s new CEO.