A&O Shearman with EHG’s AED 3.5 billion restructuring

A&O Shearman has advised the creditors’ committee to Emirates Hospitals Group (EHG), a multi-specialty Emirati healthcare provider, in connection with an AED 3.5bn (c. USD 950 million) debt restructuring.

The restructuring was implemented under the UAE bankruptcy law, having received overwhelming approval from EHG’s creditors last summer and having been overseen by the Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance and the newly formed Bankruptcy Department. Implementation of the restructuring represents a major milestone for the turnaround of EHG which first entered bankruptcy proceedings in July 2021.

The restructuring involves a significant reduction of unsustainable debt, a new tiered capital structure, the establishment of a new robust governance structure with a board comprising internationally and domestically well-known healthcare professionals, and the provision of additional financing to meet EHG’s ongoing funding requirements.

The third-ever large-scale restructuring implemented under the UAE’s bankruptcy laws. The other two, Drake & Scull and JBF RAK, have both seen A&O Shearman as advisor.

The team

The A&O Shearman team advising the creditors’ committee to EHG was led by partner Adam Banks (pictured) and included partner Anthony Traboulsi in (both Dubai), partner Nicolas Stuart in Abu Dhabi, consultant Simon Roderick, and counsels Afsha Karim and Anthony Mrad. The team had support across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and London from (amongst others) senior associates Abdelhak El Kinany, John Beechinor, Luke Sampson, and Kasam Kiani, associates Arzan Zarolia, Vicky Chen, Ella Richards, Sammy Lockhart, Jakub Roszyk, Nour Gemayel, Paridhi Poddar, Abigail Pepper, senior legal project managers Hayley Cloherty and Harpreet Craggs, as well as trainees Freya Anderson, Arran Robertson and Assile Hasan.