Latham & Watkins advised Etihad Etisalat Company (Mobily), a leading telecommunications operator in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in connection with a US$200 million murabaha facility made available by Export Development Canada.
The facility will be used by Mobily to purchase eligible goods and services supplied to it by affiliates and subsidiaries of Alcatel Lucent S.A., including Alcatel Lucent, Canada Inc.
This transaction represents Mobily’s third ECA-backed Islamic financing following on from its US$646 million murabaha facility with the support of Exportkreditnämnden and Finnvera plc in August 2013 which was awarded “Murabaha Deal of the Year” and “Trade Finance Deal of the Year” by Islamic Finance news 2013. In 2014 Latham & Watkins advised Mobily in connection with its US$561 million murabaha facilities made available by Exportkreditnämnden and Finnvera plc.
Latham & Watkins partner Craig Nethercott said: “This successful financing by Mobily is a milestone transaction marking the first time that Export Development Canada has participated in Shari’ah-compliant facilities. This transaction aptly demonstrates the increased activity in ECA-based Islamic financings which has emerged over the past year.”
The Latham & Watkins team spanned the firm’s Riyadh and Dubai offices and was led by partners Craig Nethercott and Harj Rai with associate Peter Norris.
