Saudi's Tuwairqi inks $1.9bn restructuring deal

Saudi steelmaker Al-Tuwairqi Group has signed a $1.9 billion debt restructuring of bank loans, London-based Meed said, citing anonymous bank lenders.

Final documentation for the restructuring has been signed by a group of 26 banks including National Commercial Bank, National Bank of Kuwait and Standard Chartered.

Restructuring details were not disclosed but banks are not taking a haircut on the principal loans made to the company.

"This is probably the largest debt restructuring to have been completed so far in Saudi Arabia, so it is a significant achievement," one Riyadh-based banker told Meed.

Executives at Al-Tuwairqi were not immediately available to comment.

The restructuring has been in the works since late 2008 after an Al-Tuwairqi unit - Al-Ittefaq Steel Products - took a hit from a sharp drop in steel prices.

HSBC was hired in 2009 to advise the company on the restructuring.