Bank ABC, Emirates NBD Capital arrange syndicated term facility for BankDhofar
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Bank ABC and Emirates NBD Capital Limited (EMCAP), acted as Joint Coordinators, Joint Underwriters, Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners (IMLABs) on the US$ 400,000,000 dual tranche syndicated term loan facility for BankDhofar SAOG (BankDhofar). Emirates NBD Bank PJSC also acted as the Facility Agent on the transaction.
BankDhofar has become the first Omani bank and one of the first financial institutions in the region to raise a Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) linked syndicated term facility. The Facility incorporates a 2-year, and a 3-year tranche. It was over 1.8x oversubscribed mainly due to the appetite in the 3-year tranche with 15 banks from the GCC and Asian investors participating in it. The proceeds will be primarily utilized to refinance BankDhofar’s upcoming maturing facilities.
The syndication was initially launched at US$300,000,00 and was upsized to US$400,000,000 due to strong over-subscription from the banks. The Facility was signed on 23 February 2022 and on the back of strong support received from the banks, was subsequently upsized on 7 March 2022. Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait - DIFC Branch, Doha Bank Gulf Bank, Gulf International Bank, National Bank of Bahrain, State Bank of India – Bahrain and The Arab Investment Company joined as mandated lead arrangers.
Commercial Bank of Dubai, Mashreqbank, The National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah, joined the facility as lead arrangers, while National Bank of Fujairah PJSC National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain, and United Arab Bank joined as arrangers. BankDhofar’s Chief Executive Officer, Abdul Hakeem Al Ojaili stated, “Despite challenging market conditions, the success and oversubscription of this transaction is an evidence of the confidence in BankDhofar and Sultanate of Oman.”
He added, “Being the first bank in Oman to price a syndicated facility off SOFR averages, represents a significant achievement for the bank as the industry transitions away from the Interbank Offered Rate (IBOR). The transaction also demonstrates BankDhofar’s position as a leader in adapting and aligning its systems and processes to embrace change”.
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