Dubai Aerospace Enterprise closes $1.6b new financing facilities

DUBAI/ WAM

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) on Monday announced that it has signed a new multi-tranche financing, structured as a combination of revolving credit facilities and term financing facilities, each comprising of conventional and Islamic tranches (the Facilities) with HSBC and JP Morgan acting as Joint Bookrunners and Joint Mandated Lead Arrangers.
Following significant demand, the transaction was upsized in syndication to more than twice the envisaged initial size and the Facilities were closed at $1.6 billion with a group of 26 financiers, making it the largest bank loan financing raised by DAE to date.
The Facility enabled DAE to tap the Islamic banking liquidity and consolidate its existing banking relationships in the Middle East, Asia, North America, and Europe. Proceeds from the Facilities will support the future financing needs of the business and refinance a maturing credit facility.
Firoz Tarapore, Chief Executive Officer of DAE, commented, “We are delighted with the exceptional outcome delivered by the Joint Bookrunners, who demonstrated strong leadership, sound market judgement and conviction that has enabled DAE to execute successful financing to support our corporate strategy.”
“The closing of these Facilities, as well as the upsizing and oversubscription, underscores the support and confidence that banks have shown in DAE and its future growth prospects. The Facilities will allow DAE to maintain its exceptional liquidity and support the financing requirements of our recently announced order book acquisition. We look forward to continuing to deepen our relationship with our banking partners in the coming years.”
Shaikha Al Marri, Head of Government and Corporates within the Global Banking team at HSBC Middle East, said, “HSBC has a long-standing relationship with DAE and the very robust demand for this landmark transaction from investors across a wide range of geographies, which resulted in a significant increase in its final size, clearly demonstrates how we use the strength of our network on behalf of our clients.”
Imran Zaidi, Head of MENAP Corporate Banking at JP Morgan, said, “JP Morgan is very pleased to support DAE in achieving its financing plans. We are proud of our long-standing relationship with DAE and look forward to supporting their future requirements. The transaction was significantly upsized and oversubscribed, underscoring investors’ confidence in DAE’s performance.”