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Abu Dhabi Commercial bond conversion lifts capital | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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ABU DHABI, (Reuters) – Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank [ADCB] said on Thursday it converted 4.8 billion dirhams ($1.31 billion) bonds issued in 2008 into 785.6 million shares, raising its capital level.

The lender, one of the region’s most exposed banks to indebted conglomerate Dubai Worldm issued mandatory convertible bonds worth 4.8 billion dirhams to four strategic shareholders including the government of Abu Dhabi in April 2008.

The bonds, which carried a coupon of EIBOR plus 1.5 percent, were due to be converted before April 2011.

At issue, the bonds had a conversion price of 7.35 dirhams but the price automatically adjusted to 6.11 dirhams after ADCB’s bonus issue in May 2008.

ADCB shares currently trade at 2.72 dirhams.

“The actual increase was 785.5 million shares as requested by the company, therefore the new capital listed in ADX is 5.59 billion,” the bank said in a statement on the Abu Dhabi stock market website.

ADCB has hired Goldman Sachs and BOA-Merrill Lynch as advisors for its $1.4 billion stake sale in RHB Capital, its chief executive said last month.