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OHLA has asked its banks and bondholders to grant temporary waivers on potential events of default stemming from an unpaid judgment in Qatar, according to a regulatory filing the company issued on September 7. The Spanish construction group holds credit lines and bonding facilities that could be affected, including the FSM Facility along with the CESCE Bonding Facility and New CESCE Bonding Facility. Officials at the firm indicated the waivers would extend until January 3 2027 or the date when an exequatur process renders the foreign judgment final and enforceable in the relevant jurisdiction, whichever comes first.
The request follows a decision by Qatar’s Court of Cassation on August 30 that made final an appeal court ruling against a joint venture in which OHLA holds a 55 percent stake, a company statement to the CNMV showed. The judgment requires the joint venture with Contrack Cyprus to pay 26.4 million euros jointly and severally to subcontractors Kentz and Voltas for work related to the Sidra Hospital in Doha. OHLA has maintained that it will pursue all available legal actions to defend its interests in the matter.
Construction of the high-technology hospital and medical research center was awarded in 2008 to the joint venture for a contract valued at more than 1.8 billion euros from Qatar Foundation, according to details the company has previously disclosed. The dispute with the subcontractors Kentz and Voltas dates back several years and progressed through Qatari courts before reaching the Cassation level. A company assessment found the accounting impact from the judgment to be neutral because provisions already booked exceeded the ordered amount.
Bondholders holding notes with an aggregate principal of 343 million euros due in 2029 have been asked to irrevocably waive any default or acceleration rights linked to the Qatar judgment under the bond conditions, OHLA said in the announcement. The terms of those bonds allow acceleration if judgments exceeding 4 million euros remain unpaid or unsuspended for 30 days, or in cases of cross-default on other obligations. The firm is also seeking parallel consents from its banking counterparties to maintain access to existing facilities without triggering repayment demands.
Approval from holders representing at least 50 percent of the outstanding bond principal is required for the waiver to pass, a threshold OHLA must reach by 11:00 a.m. on September 24 or take the resolutions to a formal bondholder assembly, according to the filing. That meeting has been scheduled for September 29 at the same time if electronic consents fall short. The company framed the request as a technical measure to preserve financial stability while the exequatur proceedings continue through the courts.
The move arrives four months after the Amodio family, already a significant shareholder group, increased its stake in OHLA through an accelerated placement handled by JP Morgan, a report from Link Securities noted. Entities controlled by Luis Amodio Herrera and Mauricio Amodio Herrera acquired 100 million shares for 43.96 million euros in the July transaction, lifting their combined holding by 7.22 percentage points. The family described the purchase at the time as a sign of confidence in the builder’s growth prospects and value creation potential.
OHLA has signaled plans to refinance the 9.5 percent coupon on its existing bonds with a new issuance and other instruments once market conditions allow, the latest disclosures indicated. The Qatar judgment forms part of legacy disputes from the group’s international project portfolio, where joint ventures have occasionally led to prolonged legal proceedings. No other immediate financial covenants appear at risk from this specific development, according to the company’s current evaluation.
