Borse Dubai pays back $1.1bn loan ahead of maturity

Borse Dubai, the holding company for Dubai Financial Market and Nasadaq Dubai, on Thursday announced that it had paid back $1.1 billion loan ahead of maturity date and sold stake in Nasdaq OMX.

The Dubai- based company said that it refinanced $1.35bn debt as part of its $2.45bn term loan facility before the maturity date of February 2011 - with support of holding company Investment Corporation of Dubai.

A statement issued by the Dubai Government Media Office said the refinancing comprises three separate transactions which have been entered into simultaneously.As part of first transaction, Borse Dubai sold 22.78 million shares of common stock of Nasdaq OMX to Nasdaq OMX for $497 million. This proceeds will be applied in the pre-payment of the loan.

In the second transaction, it sold eight million shares of common stock of Nasdaq OMX to Nomura for $175 million as part of its early loan repayment.  Nomura will sell these shares to Investor AB pending regulatory clearance. In the third transaction, Borse Dubai has paid back $28m 3-year loan which was arranged by Nomura and Emirates NBD.

Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, Executive Director and CEO of ICD, said: "We are very pleased to have completed this refinancing and to have partially de-leveraged and partially extended the term of Borse Dubai’s facility for a further three years. Borse Dubai remains a committed, long-term shareholder of Nasdaq OMX and by entering into these Transactions it has been able to achieve its financing objectives while retaining substantial economic interest in Nasdaq OMX.  Borse Dubai remains the single largest shareholder of Nasdaq OMX."Emirates NBD and Nomura acted as financial advisers to Borse Dubai.