Airport retailer Dubai Duty Free (DDF) said it has successfully closed a $1.75 billion debut financing deal with the support of leading international banks to help fund the on-going expansion of Dubai International Airport.

The six-year senior unsecured syndicated credit facility, comprising a conventional term-loan facility and Islamic facilities, was the largest syndicated facility for a debut Dubai government related entity since 2008, said a statement from DDF.

The financing transaction closed significantly oversubscribed, with strong support from a syndicate of 26 international, regional and local banks, said top official.

'We are extremely pleased with the very positive response that the transaction has elicited from the market and which enabled both an upsizing in the size of the financing and a tightening of the margin,' said an elated Colm McLoughlin, the executive vice chairman of DDF.

'The successful close of this transaction clearly highlights the confidence that the bank community has in DDF and just as importantly demonstrates that sentiment around and towards Dubai is continuously improving,' he remarked.

'All in all, this is a highly successful debut financing which sets a benchmark for DDF’s future funding strategy and allows us to focus firmly on implementing our development plans for the benefit of all stakeholders,' he added.
 
Demonstrating demand for credits with strong fundamentals and appropriate financing structures, the transaction garnered a significant oversubscription which allowed DDF to exercise its right to upsize the facility from the initial launch amount of $1.1 billion and to successfully reduce the margin by 25 basis points.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Citi, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD and HSBC acted as bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers (MLAs).

The other MLAs on the transaction were Gulf International Bank, Al Hilal Bank, MashreqBank, Qatar National Bank and Commercial Bank International. Lead arrangers included Commercial Bank of Dubai, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Samba Financial Group and Union National Bank.

The arrangers on the transaction were Gulf Bank, BAWAG, Arab Bank, First Gulf Bank, Noor Islamic Bank, and Sharjah Islamic Bank.
Junior Arrangers on the transaction were Ajman Bank, Ahli United Bank, Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, National Bank of Kuwait and United Arab Bank.-TradeArabia News Service