Delek Real Estate seeks to postpone bond repayment

The debt-laden company is asking for a five-month respite; controlling shareholder Yitzhak Tshuva will inject capital.

Now it's official. As reported by "Globes". Yitzhak Tshuva, who controls Delek Real Estate Ltd. (TASE: DLKR, is asking for postponement of the repayment of the company's Series 25 bond by five months to January 2012.

After a board meeting yesterday that lasted hours, Delek Real Estate is requesting its bondholders for a deferment in the payment of part of the debt. The company was supposed t repay NIS 300 million to its bondholders in September, two months away.

During the deferral period, the company is meant to put together a general debt arrangement, to be based on its main assets. These are two subsidiaries: Elad Israel, which owns land in Israel, and DGRE, which owns assets in Europe, the main one being a chain of car parks in the UK, leased to NCP.

The future debt arrangement will apparently include conversion of part of the debt to equity, and participation by the controlling shareholder, Tshuva, who will inject capital and assets.

If the bondholders agree to the proposal, they will receive compensation in the form of additional interest or collateral, and a pledge of further support by Tshuva for the company, as an expression of his confidence in Delek Real Estate.

Dele Real Estate's total debt to its bondholders is NIS 2.1 billion (out of a total consolidated debt of some NIS 15 billion). The company has no cash, and has a deficit on shareholders' equity of NIS 1.3 billion.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 25, 2011

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011

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