Al-Gosaibi to oppose banks’ claim on its assets

Saudi Arabian family-conglomerate Ahmad Hamad Al-Gosaibi and Brothers (AHAB) will oppose any move by two of its banking creditors (Arab National Bank and another lender) to claim the firm’s assets in order to settle its outstanding debt, AHAB’s acting CEO Simon Charlton told Bloomberg.

“Al-Gosaibi will oppose the move because the assets are meant to be frozen by a royal decree to ensure all creditors are treated fairly,” Bloomberg quoted Charlton as saying, who didn’t name the second bank.

AHAB and billionaire Maan al-Sanea’s Saad Group had defaulted on around $15 billion of debt in 2009, the largest default in the Middle East.

The companies have been in talks with banks and financial institutions for debt settlement.