Gibson Dunn, King & Spalding and Norton Rose Fulbright have advised on transactions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Gibson Dunn
Gibson Dunn advised the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Finance on the arrangement of its SAR 9.4 billion (US$2.5 billion) Shariah-compliant revolving credit facility.
The three-year facility, secured with the participation of three regional and international financial institutions, will support the Kingdom’s general budgetary requirements and is in line with Saudi Arabia’s public debt strategy to diversify funding sources.
The Gibson Dunn team was led by Riyadh finance partner Mahmoud Abdel-Baky.
King & Spalding
A cross-office team of King & Spalding lawyers advised Jadwa Investment Company on the launch of its Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) private equity fund.
The Jadwa GCC Private Equity Fund 1 is a Saudi domiciled investment fund targeting up to SAR 2 billion (US$533 million) in capital commitments. The fund will invest in a diversified portfolio of private equity opportunities across Gulf countries with a focus on driving growth across key sectors, including healthcare, retail, food & beverage, hospitality, logistics, energy, and industrials.
The fund operates on a Shariah-compliant basis and is regulated by Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority (CMA).
Investors in the fund include sovereign entities such as Jada Fund of Funds and Saudi Venture Capital Company, and regional and international institutional investors and family offices.
The King & Spalding team included partners in Riyadh and Dubai, and was led by James Stull and Sayf Shuqair, with involvement from Nabil Issa and Dounia Mansour.
Norton Rose Fulbright
Norton Rose Fulbright advised on the first public offer of Sukuk in Saudi Arabia to be approved following recent changes to the Rules on the Offer of Securities and Continuing Obligations (OSCO Rules).
The firm advised Rawasi Al Bina Investment Company on the approval it received by the Saudi CMA to establish a SAR 500 million (US$133 million) Sukuk Issuance Programme and the offering of Sukuk under the programme on a ‘public offer’ basis to investors in the Kingdom.
The Norton Rose Fulbright team advising on the transaction was led by Dubai capital markets partner Hamed Afzal, who said: “We were delighted to be able to assist our client with this precedent-setting transaction, which marks the first public offer of Sukuk to be approved following the recent changes to the OSCO Rules by the CMA, allowing for the more streamlined issuance of publicly offered debt instruments. The transaction highlights the continued growth of capital markets in the Kingdom and we are delighted to be at the forefront of efforts to deepen and evolve the market further in the context of Vision 2030.”
