The Kuwait office of Al Tamimi & Company, the largest independent law firm in the Middle East, was recently awarded by the International Financial Law Review “IFLR”, the market leading financial law publication for lawyers, the “Debt & Equity-Linked Deal of the Year 2016” for its involvement as legal counsel for Boubyan Bank K.S.C.P. (Bank), a leading Kuwaiti Islamic Bank, in its issuance of Sukuk worth USD $250 Million. Al Tamimi & Company was also recognized by IFLR as the National Law Firm of the Year.

The awards ceremony was held in Dubai on 19 October 2016, which honoured all parties involved in the deals at a prestigious black tie event held at Burj Al Arab. Several Partners and key managers collected the Awards on behalf of the firm. Accepting the awards on behalf of Al Tamimi & Company were Alex Saleh (Partner & Head of Office) and Omar Handoush (Head of Banking & Finance).

The transaction is the first Sukuk issued by a Kuwaiti Bank to enhance Tier 1 Capital. The transaction used a Mudarabah structure in order to ensure Shari’a compliance. It will be listed in the NASDAQ market as well as the Irish Stock Exchange and will be priced at 6.75 per cent.

Boubyan Capital, the investment arm of Boubyan Bank, served as the global coordinator for the issuance along with Standard Chartered and HSBC. Other financial institutions involved in the issuance as bookrunners and joint lead managers include NBD Capital, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates, KFH Capital, and the National Bank of Kuwait.

The Al Tamimi team was led by Head of Office and Partner, Alex Saleh, as well as Head of Banking & Finance Omar Handoush, Associate El Hassan Abdelrazek and Associate Abdullah Masud.

The Awards are chosen from a pool of globally nominated deals and are presented to leading firms in their chosen categories and markets. The judges looked for evidence of legal expertise, innovation and strategic vision in the deals that were nominated. Al Tamimi & Company was up against a strong pool of other international law firms within these areas. Partner and Head of the Kuwait office, Alex Saleh, commented on the awards by stating, “We are extremely pleased to receive such notable recognition and accolades from the IFLR. We want to thank everyone involved on the deal for their dedication and efforts, especially to the members of Boubyan Bank who made us part of such a ground breaking transaction in the field of Islamic finance. It is truly an honour.”