Dentons advises Burgan Bank on US$500 million issuance

Dentons has advised Burgan Bank on the issuance of US$500 million Perpetual Tier 1 Capital Securities, which completed on 30 September 2014. The Capital Securities were listed on the Irish Stock Exchange and represented Kuwait’s first ever Basel III-compliant regulatory capital issuance.

HSBC Bank acted as Global Coordinator, and, together with Citigroup, J.P. Morgan and National Bank of Abu Dhabi, as Joint Lead Managers, in relation to the issuance of the Capital Securities. Burgan Yatırım Menkul Degerler acted as Co-Lead Manager on the transaction.

Dentons Capital Markets partner, Alex Roussos, commented: “We are very pleased to have represented Burgan Bank in this landmark transaction, not only for Kuwait but also for the region as a whole. The instrument is one of only a small handful of capital markets issuances in the Middle East that have been structured in accordance with Basel III guidelines following implementation of these rules locally, and is even more rare if one takes into account the fact that it incorporates a mechanism permitting the reduction or cancellation of principal in circumstances where the bank is in financial difficulty. This successful transaction is the result of the very hard work of the bank, the Joint Lead Managers, legal counsel and, not least, the regulator in Kuwait”.

The Dentons team was led by Alex Roussos and senior associate Beene Ndulo, both based in Dubai.

Source:  www.dentons.com