Cairo-listed private equity firm Citadel Capital is restructuring $145m of existing debt and is seeking to increase the size of the loan to $300m.

Renegotiation of the existing deal is already underway and is expected to be concluded by the end of 2010. Citadel says that once the new loan is in place it would enable the firm to increase its debt-to-equity ratio from 22 per cent up to a maximum of 50 per cent. The firm adds that the new loan will provide additional liquidity over a longer tenor and with less restrictive covenants. The current $145m loan matures after four years.

Although the firm has not broken covenants on the existing facility, chairman and founder, Ahmed Heikal, explains, “Because we are a dynamic, fast-growing institution, we do require some exceptional approvals from time to time”. He has declined to disclose the banks or terms being considered.

Citadel Capital has not completed any exits from its investments since the sale of Egyptian Fertiliser Company in June 2007, but it says it will consider an IPO for Taqa Arabia in the first half of 2011, dependent on market conditions.