What would Dubai sell?

Reuters

Dubai will attempt to reassure markets and investors on how it plans to restructure its beleaguered conglomerate Dubai World after it requested a shock standstill from bondholders for a $3.5 billion bond maturing on Dec 14.

The lack of clarity and the prospect of bondholders rejecting the delay in repayments could lead to a fire sale of prize assets and even push the emirate to divest speculative investments made during the six-year boom that are unlikely to generate long-term revenue.

Following are details of key assets and high-profile holdings possibly up for sale.

DUBAI WORLD ASSETS

DP WORLD

One of the world's largest port operators is arguably the crown jewel in its trophy cabinet. Its 2007 IPO, the region's largest to date, raised almost $5 billion, but its share price has fallen by more than two thirds of its original value. The firm went to reassure investors on Nov. 26 it was not part of Dubai World's restructuring. Dubai World was in talks with a private equity firm to sell a stake in the port operator.

STANDARD CHARTERED

Istithmar bought a 2.7 percent stake worth about $1 billion in October, 2006. The bank signalled on Friday its exposure to Dubai World would not be material.

MGM MIRAGE

In 2007, Dubai World invested about $5 billion in casino operator MGM Mirage by buying shares and half of an $8.5 billion Las Vegas project. Dubai World last year sued MGM Mirage as credit dried up and CityCenter flirted with bankruptcy. The project has been plagued by construction problems.

BARNEYS

Istithmar World bought U.S. luxury retail chain Barneys for $942 million in 2007. Barneys hired restructuring advisory firm Perella Weinberg in August to help it mull options that would shore up its financial position.

PERELLA WEINBERG

Istithmar also invested about $100 million into the boutique investment bank in 2006.

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

Property developer Nakheel and Istithmar bought a 20 percent stake in Montreal-based international circus touring company in June 2008 and had planned to build a theater with the group on its main palm-shaped island.

TURNBERRY GOLF COURSE

Leisurecorp, Dubai World's leisure and sports investment unit, bought the Turnberry Golf course, home to golf's oldest competition, from Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Nov 2008 for about $100 million.

QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 LINER

Originally bought in 2007 for $100 million to be converted into a luxury hotel and moored off Dubai's Palm, the ship's future has been under scrutiny since it docked at Port Rashid in Dubai last year for refurbishment. In July, Nakheel said it was mulling moving the liner to another location, or Africa.

ATLANTIS DUBAI

The resort, which opened in November to a $50 million firework display, is a joint venture with South Africa tycoon Sol Kerzner.

DUBAI PRIZE ASSETS

EMIRATES

The airline, whose chairman also chairs Dubai's supreme fiscal committee, has $55 billion of orders of planes from Boeing  and Airbus. It has been at the forefront of turning Dubai into an international hub and had been nearing a potential share sale before the financial crisis hit. Emirates has repeatedly fought back speculation it would merge with Abu Dhabi's carrier Etihad Airways.

DUBAI ALUMINIUM (DUBAL)

Established in 1979, the aluminium producer has become one of the world's largest producers and exporters of the metal and in 2006 entered into a joint venture with Mubadala Development Co, a wholly-owned investment vehicle of the Abu Dhabi government to build one of the largest single aluminium plants in the world.

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE

Borse Dubai, which took a 21 percent stake in the bourse operator in November 2007, said in June it saw its LSE investment as long-term and had no plans to sell its stake. LSE shares were among the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 after Dubai's debt news.

HSBC

The investment arm of Dubai's ruler Dubai International Capital (DIC) in 2007 bought an undisclosed stake in HSBC making it one of the largest investors in Europe's biggest banks. DIC in 2006 set up a fund aimed at buying into some of world's largest listed equities. The group earlier this year went under restructuring and its chief executive left the company.

DEUTSCHE BANK

DIFC Investments, a unit of the Dubai international Financial Centre, bought a 2.2 percent stake in the German lender in 2007 in a deal worth about $1.83 billion. The DIFC's governor was last week replaced as part of a shake-up Dubai's hierarchy.

SONY CORP

Dubai International Capital through its Global Strategic Equities Fund (GSEF) bought a stake in the Japanese electronics and entertainment firm in 2007 in what it described at the time as a substantial investment. Anyone who buys more than 5 percent of a listed company on Tokyo is required to report the stake to regulators within five business days.

EUROPEAN AERONAUTIC DEFENCE & SPACE COMPANY (EADS)

The GSEF also bought into Airbus' parent company taking a 3.12 percent stake, making it one of the largest institutional investors in the aerospace group.

ALLIANCE MEDICAL

DIC also in 2007 bought Alliance Medical for $1.25 billion with plans to expand one of Europe's largest MRI and CT scan services provider into the Middle East and Asia.

EMAAR PROPERTIES EMAR

The Arab world's largest property developer by market value is in the midst of a merger with three other state-linked developers after a failed acquisition in the United States and Dubai's real estate market crashing left it vulnerable. Still, its portfolio includes the world's tallest tower Burj Dubai, set to open in January, and one of the world's biggest malls already open.