Award winning finance deal

Simmons & Simmons acted as lead counsel on the US$842m syndicated multi-purpose Islamic credit facility granted to the Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) for the development of the US$2.22bn Girls’ University Campus Project of the King Saud University in Riyadh. The syndicated deal covers multiple facilities on a Shariah compliant basis, giving SBG certainty of funding for this strategic project.

The Mandated Lead Arranger, Sole Bookrunner, Investment Agent and Security Agent was Dubai Islamic Bank and the participating banks were Mashreqbank, Emirates NBD, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Dubai Islamic Bank.

This unique deal was structured to combine a number of different Shariah compliant credit facilities in order to meet the complex needs of the project. Due to its unprecedented nature, most of the agreements were newly drafted. Amongst other elements, the facility incorporated a Mudarabah which was structured such that the banks participated in real risk sharing with the project company, giving the credit facility substance in terms of its Shariah compliance.

The deal has been awarded “Syndicated Deal of the Year” in the Islamic Finance News Deals of the Year Awards 2009.

The Simmons & Simmons team was led by Islamic finance partner, Muneer Khan. The principal lawyers on the transaction were associate, Tariq Hameed, and legal assistant, Badrul Hasan.

Muneer Khan commented: “This was a very bespoke and complex Islamic financing deal involving innovative structuring, using a combination of Shariah compliant facilities to meet the multi-purpose needs of the project. The deal has been recognised as a standout transaction for 2009 and we are proud to have worked with Dubai Islamic Bank and the other parties involved in bringing it to a successful and rapid conclusion during difficult market conditions.”

Alaa El-Shafei, Vice President and Unit Head, Contracting Finance Department at Dubai Islamic Bank commented: "I am delighted to express many thanks to Simmons & Simmons for their legal counsel, which helped us to successfully close the deal in the first quarter of 2009. The expertise and support provided by the team was invaluable in overcoming the many challenges along the way and successfully bringing the transaction to a close, especially in very difficult market conditions."

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Notes for editors:

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