Meraas converted AED 5.74bn of DXB Entertainments debt into shares and delisted it

DXB Entertainments, operator of Dubai Parks and Resorts, was listed on the DFM after opening its parks in October 2016, but visitor numbers stayed below forecast and a Six Flags expansion was cancelled in 2019. COVID then shut the parks for about six months, and 2020 visits plunged 69% to 802,121.

The damage was structural: the 2020 net loss widened to AED 2.66bn from AED 855m in 2019, accumulated losses reached AED 7.8bn — 98% of issued capital — and the company warned its cash would run out by the second quarter of 2021. Its board told the DFM that the alternative to the Meraas offer was potential dissolution and liquidation.

In December 2020 Meraas Leisure and Entertainment proposed a capital restructuring: it would convert a AED 1.48bn ($403m) convertible bond owed to it and assume AED 4.26bn of senior debt in return for 8 billion new shares, lifting its stake from 52.29% to 93.92%, then tender for minorities at AED 0.08 a share — a 189% premium to December 2020 net asset value per share.

Shareholders backed the plan, Meraas completed the mandatory acquisition, and DFM suspended and delisted the shares in June 2021; the parks business was then integrated into Dubai Holding Entertainment.

Meraas converted a AED 1.48bn bond and AED 4.26bn of senior debt into shares (stake to 93.92%), offered AED 0.08 cash for minorities, and delisted DXBE from DFM in 2021.

Converting AED 5.74bn of bond and bank debt into equity removed the debt service that park cash flows could never cover.

A minority cash offer at AED 0.08 gave shareholders an exit instead of a likely zero in liquidation.

Moving the company private let the owner manage the recovery without quarterly listing pressure.

Earlier steps — interest deferrals and park reorganisations — bought the time needed to reach a structural deal.

When accumulated losses reach 98% of capital, debt-for-equity by a patient sovereign owner can salvage the business — the realistic alternative was liquidation, not a better listing.

Meraas took full ownership and DXB Entertainments was delisted from the DFM in June 2021; the business was then integrated into Dubai Holding Entertainment. The restructuring became a precedent for how Dubai's sovereign holding companies fix listed balance sheets broken by pandemic losses and pre-crisis debt.