Nov 24 Reuters Troubled Swedish property group SBB has paid back some debt early, buying more than 400 million euros 436.3 million of bonds and securities at a small discount as it scrambles to tackle a multibillion debt pile.

The company will pay 404 million euros to buy back 417 million euros of nominal debt, tapping money from the sale of a schools property business. That will clear roughly a third of debt falling due in the coming 12 months.

The terms however disappointed some. Carlsquare analyst Bertil Nilsson said the deal was unusually expensive for the company because bondholders accepted only a small discount on the nominal value of their debt.

I had expected… a bigger discount, said Nilsson, who labelled the venture a disappointment.

Once a stock market darling, SBB is at the epicentre of a property crash that threatens to engulf Sweden39;s economy and has sent the company39;s stock into freefall.

The group, which built up a vast debt by buying public property, including social housing, government offices, schools and hospitals, is now scrambling to salvage its finances after its credit rating was downgraded to junk.

Before the deal the company39;s debt pile stood at roughly 59 billion Swedish crowns 5.6 billion, with about 13.4 billion crowns falling due in the next 12 months.

SBB had originally planned to buy up to 600 million euros of securities after it invited bondholders, in a surprise move, to offer up their debt at a discount to the company….