Air Arabia files lawsuit against Abraaj founder

Air Arabia filed a lawsuit against Abraaj founder Arif Naqvi, becoming the first publicly-traded company to initiate legal proceedings against the Pakistani entrepreneur. The low-cost carrier said it began legal proceedings "through the filing of a misdemeanor case" in a court in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates. "Air Arabia Group has investments outstanding with private equity firm Abraaj," it said. The Dubai-listed airline, which has a market value of about $1.3b, said in June that it had an exposure of $336m to funds managed by Abraaj Group, adding that it won’t have a "significant impact" on daily operations or its liquidity status. Abraaj was one of the most high-profile private equity companies in the Middle East until its dramatic collapse last year. The firm owes banks more than $1b and is being restructured after it was found to have borrowed money from some of its own funds to meet operating expenses without investors’ consent, people with knowledge of the matter have said. The buyout firm at one point owned 17% of the carrier.<br/>