Clifford Chance

Firm also advises on seven award-winning transactions

Clifford Chance is proud to announce that the Firm has been named Banking Legal Adviser of the Year at the prestigious Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Awards in 2021. The awards bring together the industry's most high-profile figures to celebrate the most innovative and ground-breaking transactions from sovereign, corporate and financial institution issuers and borrowers in the Middle East.

Seven transactions closed by the Firm team during the past year were also awarded 'deal of the year' recognitions, including:

• Quasi-Sovereign Bond Deal of the Year: Awarded to Mubadala in connection with Mamoura Diversified Global Holding's USD 4 billion RegS Senior Unsecured Dual-listed Formosa Bond. Clifford Chance advised Bookrunners Banca IMI, BNP Paribas, BofA Securities, FAB, HSBC, Natixis and Societe Generale.
• Corporate Bond Deal of the Year: Awarded to SABIC for its USD 1 billon RegS Senior Unsecured Formosa Bond. AS&H in co-operation with Clifford Chance and Clifford Chance advised SABIC on the transaction, which was one of the largest corporate debt deals in the Middle East in 2020.
• Ground-Breaking Deal of the Year: Awarded to Etihad Airways for its Unity Sukuk 1 Ltd USD 600 million RegS Senior Unsecured Transition Sukuk Al-Wakala. Clifford Chance advised Etihad Airways on the transaction, which represents the first sustainability-linked bond in the airline industry.
• Islamic Finance Deal of the Year: Awarded to Qatar Investment Bank on its USD 800 million RegS Senior Unsecured Formosa Sukuk Al-Wakala/Mudarab. This was the first Formosa Sukuk issuance by QIB and also the first by a GCC financial institution. Clifford Chance advised Standard Chartered Bank as Bookrunner on the transaction.
• Syndicated Loan Deal of the Year: Awarded to DP World for its USD 9 billion conventional and Ijarah based syndicated financing. Clifford Chance advised DP World on this financing made at the height of the pandemic. It allowed for both the privatization of Dubai World and for the company to repay its current commercial bank lenders in full.
• Leveraged Finance Deal of the Year: Awarded to Al Fakher in connection with the United Brands of Shisha Midco Ltd's USD 260 million “Take Private” Leveraged Acquisition Finance Facility. Clifford Chance advised United Brands of Shisha Midco Ltd.
• Project Finance Deal of the Year: Awarded to Galaxy Pipelines in connection with Galaxy Pipeline Assets Bidco Limited's USD 7.96 billion and its USD 4 billion Senior Secured Facility and 144a/RegS Project Bond. Clifford Chance advised Bookrunners Citi, Credit Agricole, Emirates NBD Natixis, Samba and Société Générale on the acquisition term loan as well as Bookrunners BNP Paribas, FAB, Mizuho, MUFG, Standard Chartered, ADCB, CA-CIB, Emirates NBD, Natixis, Samba, Santander, SMBC and Société Générale on the 144a/RegS bond issuance.

Clifford Chance's Middle East Banking and Finance team has had an impressive year, garnering no less than 21 deal and team awards in the past twelve months from leading organisations such as Islamic Finance News and International Financial Law Review, in addition to Bonds, Loans & Sukuk. The team has for years also been consistently ranked in Band 1 across all of The Legal 500, Chambers and IFLR 1000 legal directories.