Islamic Finance News (IFN) has named three transactions on which White & Case advised among its IFN "Deals of the Year" for work performed in 2017. With one transaction winning two awards, White & Case was recognized four times in all. The annual awards "honor the best in the Islamic financial industry and are one of the most prestigious awards highly recognized by the global Islamic capital markets," according to IFN.
The winning deals on which White & Case advised were:
Saudi Arabia Deal of the Year and Sovereign Deal of the Year: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Sukuk
In the largest capital markets offering of Sukuk to date, White & Case represented Citigroup, HSBC and JPMorgan as joint global coordinators, joint bookrunners and joint lead managers, and BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and NCB Capital as joint bookrunners and joint lead managers on the establishment by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, acting through the Ministry of Finance, of the trust certificate issuance program of KSA Sukuk Ltd. and issuance of US$9 billion of Sukuk trust certificates. The Islamic structure employed for the first time for a sovereign issuer an innovative murabaha and back-to-back mudaraba structure allowing for an expanded pool of future assets for further issues.
Restructuring Deal of the Year: United Arab Shipping Company and Hapag-Lloyd
White & Case represented United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) on its US$11 billion business combination with Hapag-Lloyd Aktiengesellschaft, a German publicly listed container shipping company, which included the re-domiciliation of UASC to Dubai International Finance Centre, in relation to two existing French lease tax leases concerning two ships. The combined entity is the world's fifth-largest container shipper company.
Hybrids Deal of the Year: Equate Sukuk SPC
In what IFN called "the largest-ever corporate Sukuk issued out of Kuwait and the largest-ever international eurobond wholly guaranteed by Kuwaiti entities," White & Case represented Equate Group Ltd. on the Regulation S offering of US$500 million trust certificates by EQUATE Sukuk SPC Ltd. under its US$2 billion trust certificate issuance program.
