With over 40 years' experience in the Middle East, clients come to us for our complex and innovative advice to help them successfully pursue opportunities, realise investments and manage risk in Saudi Arabia.

Commitment to excellence

We are acknowledged as a market leader for corporate/M&A, capital markets, banking, energy & infrastructure, Islamic finance and international arbitration matters. Our offices also have dedicated sector specialists in the energy, infrastructure, petrochemicals, financial institutions, financial sponsor and telecommunications sectors. The firm’s track record includes acting on some of the most significant and innovative deals, as well as some of the most high-profile disputes that the region has seen in recent years.

Pioneering advice

We are one of the few firms in the region capable of advising on leading cross-border transactions, and our clients regularly instruct us on their most complex deals.

We continue to advise on some of the largest and most high-profile deals in the Saudi market, but what we are truly proud of is our ability to take on some of the most structurally complex projects and coming up with innovative solutions to help our clients achieve their strategic objectives.

As the deals are becoming more complex in the Kingdom, driven both by the diversification of projects and greater sophistication of financing methods, clients are increasingly looking to us as one of the pre-eminent firms for intricate financial models, to assist them with their most important and challenging matters. 

We are known as one of the leading law firms within the Saudi PPP space, having been involved in the first major successful PPP in the Kingdom, the Madinah Airport PPP Project and we are currently advising on a number of the PPPs in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, it should be noted that we are also involved in the majority of the I(W)PPs in the Kingdom.

Highlights of our experience in Saudi includes advising:

Corporate/M&A

  • Saudi Telecom Company (stc) and ESM Holdings Limited: advising on the SAR 450m sale of 100% shares in Contact Center Company, a premier provider of customer experience solutions to enterprises in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to Arabian Internet and Communications Company (Solutions)
  • Al Rajhi Holding and other shareholders: advising on the sale of shares in ACWA Power to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and others, increasing the fund’s shareholding from 33.35% to 50%
  • BRF: advising on the acquisition of the remaining 25% of Al Wafi Al Takamul (its food distribution business in Saudi Arabia) and 100% of Joody Al Sharqiya Food Production Factory (a food processing plant in Saudi Arabia)
  • SABIC Agri-Nutrients Company (previously Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Company): advising on the acquisition of the agricultural nutrient businesses of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) in exchange for shares listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul)
  • Schlumberger: advising on the proposed sale of its regional land rigs business to Arabian Drilling Company, a Saudi joint venture between Schlumberger and TAQA (Saudi Arabia)
  • Linde: advising on the establishment of an industrial gases join venture in Saudi Arabia with Sipchem
  • Advanced Petrochemical: advising on a joint venture with SK Gas to construct and operate a US$1.8bn propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene plants in Jubail
  • Savola Group: advising on the acquisition of a 51% stake in the Al Kabeer group, a frozen foods business in the Middle East, from the Subberwal family
  • Public Investment Fund on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: advising on the acquisition of a 50% stake in Americana (IFLR Middle East M&A Deal of the Year 2017)
  • TasHeel: advising on its sale to VFS Global of 100% of its Middle Eastern visa facility management business and its 50% interest in VFS Tasheel, the outsourced visa services partners of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Energy & Infrastructure

  • the US$2bn Madinah Airport Expansion, the first full PPP project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the largest PPP project to have reached financial close in the Middle East
  • the Qassim, Ha’il and Yanbu Airports PPP Project financing in Saudi Arabia where we are advising the lenders to the preferred bidder;
  • Tatweer Schools Project: advising the lenders to the Al Rajhi consortium on their bids for a number of PPP projects across the schools and housing sectors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
  • Saudi Landbridge PPP Project: advising Saudi Railways Organization on the US$6.5bn Saudi Landbridge PPP Project comprising a 30 year BOT concession between Jeddah and Riyadh and Dammam and Jubail, Saudi Arabia
  • Saudi Aramco Compounds PPP: advising the lenders on a bid for the Saudi Aramco Compounds PPP project in Saudi Arabia
  • SAGO Mills Projects: advising the lenders on a bid for the acquisition of the SAGO Mills projects in Saudi Arabia
  • Saudi Railways Organization as arranger on the SAR 30.815bn Phase 2 of the Haramain High Speed Railway Project
  • SAMAPCO: advising on the SAR 2.25bn Murabaha refinancing of certain existing facilities provided by the Public Investment Fund, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund and commercial lenders for Sahara Ma’aden Petrochemical Company
  • Saudi Electricity Company: advising on the US$2.15bn revolving credit facility in favour of Saudi Electricity Company to refinance existing indebtedness and for general corporate purposes (2018)

Banking

  • Mizuho Bank Ltd.: advising the mandated lead arrangers in respect of a US$16bn dual conventional and Islamic financing for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
  • The financiers: advising on the ground-breaking triple tranche high yield, conventional and Islamic financings to Advanced Energy Systems, totalling in excess of US$750m in commitments
  • Saudi Investment Recycling Company: advising on the acquisition financing of Global Environmental Management Services from Jadwa Waste Management Opportunities Fund
  • The financier: advising on the SAR300m debut financing for Global Data Hub, a subsidiary of Saudi Electricity Company

Capital Markets

  • Bank of China Limited, London Branch, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Goldman Sachs International, HSBC Bank plc, Mizuho International plc, MUFG Securities EMEA plc, Samba Capital & Investment Management Company and SMBC Nikko Capital Markets Limited on the issuance by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia acting through the Ministry of Finance of US$2,500,000,000 2.900 per cent. Notes due 2025, US$1,500,000,000 3.250 per cent. Notes due 2030 and US$3,000,000,000 4.500 per cent. Notes due 2060 under its Global Medium Term Note Programme
  • Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc, Standard Chartered Bank, BNP Paribas, HSBC Bank plc, J.P. Morgan Securities plc and NCB Capital Company on the issuance by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia acting through the Ministry of Finance of US$1,250,000,000 2.500 per cent. Notes due 2027, US$1,000,000,000 2.750 per cent. Notes due 2032 and US$2,750,000,000 3.750 per cent. Notes due 2055 under its Global Medium Term Note Programme
  • The National Commercial Bank: advising on its issuance of SAR 5bn tier 2 capital Basel III-compliant sukuk, the largest capital markets issuance by a financial institution in Saudi Arabia and the largest subordinated instrument by a financial institution in the MENA region