Aldar signs credit facility with NBAD

Aldar, Abu Dhabi's real estate developer, on Tuesday signed a Dh4 billion revolving credit facility with National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), which will allow it to manage its liquidity requirements till 2015. The facility has a tenor of three years will be used for general purposes in support of Aldar's normal course of business activities and will allow the company to optimally manage its working capital and liquidity requirements over the next three years, the company said in a statement. Greg Fewer, Chief Financial Officer of Aldar, said: "The signing of this new revolving credit facility further demonstrates Aldar's strong financial position and our continuing smooth access to financing markets in support of our standalone business plan. “Our financial profile is strong as a result of the comprehensive restructuring undertaken in 2011 and we are delighted to see this recognised by the market as we implement our financing strategy." In March, Aldar Properties and Sorouh Real Estate said they have initiated talks of a possible merger backed by the government of Abu Dhabi. A team will be formed to study the legal and commercial aspects which will provide recommendations to their respective boards. The study will take three months and will be conducted in coordination with relevant government bodies, the companies said in a joint statement. In the same month, Moody's Investors Service upgraded Aldar’s outlook to positive from negative, saying, “The asset transaction agreements with the government of Abu Dhabi announced in December 2011 eliminate significant market and execution risk and will allow Aldar to reduce its debt load to an estimated Dh4.5bn by 2015.” Aldar recorded a full-year net profit of Dh642.5 million in 2011, while total asset at the end of last year stood at Dh40 billion. In February, Sorouh Real Estate said net profit hit Dh383.3million in 2011, up from Dh16.2 million in 2010, driven by delivery of Sun and Sky Towers.