ANZ makes plans to shed debt
(23 November 2010 – Australia) Australia and New Zealand Banking Group is looking for buyers to take on A$495 million of loans, according to Bloomberg News.
Bloomberg cited two people familiar with the matter as saying that a deal to sell the debt, owed by Centro Properties Group, could be struck as soon as today.
Centro, a shopping mall owner with approximately A$18.4 million of debt at June 30th, said that it had been approached by a number of parties with expressions of interest in its business and assets.
Nicole Ismay, a spokesperson for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said that the bank had also recently sold A$110 million of the shopping-mall owner’s debt for about 56.5 cents in the dollar.
Nick Dunstone, from Sydney-based restructuring partner at law firm Henry Davis York, said that they were seeing an unprecedented interest from offshore distressed debt funds in investing in Australia.
While Mr Dunstone refused to comment on the Centro deal, he said that Australian banks have become more willing to sell loans since the global financial crisis as they face credit constraints and tougher regulations related to holding impaired loans on their balance sheets.
Centro, a shopping mall owner with approximately A$18.4 million of debt at June 30th, said that it had been approached by a number of parties with expressions of interest in its business and assets.
Nicole Ismay, a spokesperson for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said that the bank had also recently sold A$110 million of the shopping-mall owner’s debt for about 56.5 cents in the dollar.
Nick Dunstone, from Sydney-based restructuring partner at law firm Henry Davis York, said that they were seeing an unprecedented interest from offshore distressed debt funds in investing in Australia.
While Mr Dunstone refused to comment on the Centro deal, he said that Australian banks have become more willing to sell loans since the global financial crisis as they face credit constraints and tougher regulations related to holding impaired loans on their balance sheets.
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