Arcapita files for US protection

CEO Atif Abdulmalik Manama - Arabstoday Bahrain investment house Arcapita has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US after it was unable to reach a US$1.1bn debt repayment with creditors, it said on Monday.Arcapita blamed non-bank creditors - hedge funds, in other words - for its inability to strike a deal on its proposal to delay repayments by three years. "The actions of certain non-bank creditors have precluded Arcapita from reaching such a consensual resolution before the March 28 maturity date, jeopardising Arcapita's ability to satisfy its fiduciary duties to its stakeholders," CEO Atif Abdulmalik said in a statement. The Arcapita debt maturity has been regarded as one of the most challenging obligations facing the region in 2012. US hedge fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management was part of the creditor committee for the debt restructuring. The other four members of the creditor committee included Barclays, CIMB, Standard Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland, sources told Reuters last week.