Dubai World gets full agreement for debt deal

Dubai World has secured full creditor support for its $24.9 billion restructuring plan, said a spokesman for the indebted state conglomerate.

The deal closes one chapter in Dubai's efforts to get its financial house in order nearly a year after it shocked global markets by acknowledging it couldn't repay all its bills.

State-owned Dubai World announced last month that nearly all its creditors had signed on to the debt restructuring plan, which extends the amount of time the firm has to repay lenders. The lack of total agreement could have drawn it into protracted and potentially costly legal wrangling.

Dubai World confirmed it had all lenders on board but gave no details. It worked for months to convince more than 70 lenders to sign on to its restructuring plan.

The deal offers creditors full repayment on the principal of their outstanding loans over a five to eight year period. Several banks balked at the interest rates being offered as too low.

Lenders which were owed the majority of the debt - Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds, HSBC, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, and Standard Chartered, together with local banks Emirates and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank - agreed to the proposal in May.

Convincing smaller lenders took longer.

Dubai World gained full support after a US distressed debt firm that had been holding out on the deal sold a $5 million sliver of debt to Deutsche Bank.