Nima Fath

Project Finance

• Advising Veolia, Marafiq and Amwal AlKhaleejiah in relation to the conventional and Shariah-compliant project financing of a US$280 million independent sewage treatment plant in Jeddah, as the lead lawyer from the bidding phase through to financial close.
• Advising Hutchison Ports in relation to certain financing arrangements for the development of a port in the Jazan City for Primary and Downstream Industries (JCPDI) in Saudi Arabia.
• Advising Asyad Holding in relation to the equity financing arrangements with its equity bridge lender, Alinma Bank, and co-sponsor, Lamar Holding, for the development, construction, operation and maintenance of six residential compounds procured by Saudi Aramco to house its employees working on the East-West Pipelines in Saudi Arabia.
• Advising the General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia in relation to the financing of the district cooling and potable water projects at the King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia.
• Advising Nour Communications Company, as a consortium member, in relation to its bid for the development, financing engineering, procurement, construction, ownership, operation and maintenance of 80MW and 20MW photovoltaic power plants in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Advising AlKhorayef Water and Power Technologies, as a consortium member, in relation to its bid for the development, financing engineering, procurement, construction, ownership, operation and maintenance of up to 120MW photovoltaic power plants in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Advising a syndicate of international lenders, in the US$1.7 billion project financing of the expansion of the UAE’s first fully integrated steel manufacturing works for Emirates Steel Industries (comprising conventional and Islamic facilities).
• Advising Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi in relation to its acquisition of a US$4 billion project finance portfolio from RBS.

Restructuring and Workouts

• Advising the syndicate of lenders, including Mashreq Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Qatar National Bank, United Arab Bank, as lenders, and Dubai Islamic Bank, as agent and mandated lead arranger, on the potential restructuring of Stanford Marine Group’s Shariah-compliant US$350 million facilities agreement and subsequent debt buyout by Shuaa Capital.
• Advising Emirates NBD Bank, Mashreq Bank and Noor Bank as unsecured creditors in relation to the US$1 billion debt restructuring of Dubai International Capital.
• Advising Orange on its standstill arrangements related to loans advanced to an Iraqi telecoms company and its local Iraqi co-shareholders, and providing advice on director duties under English and DIFC law.
• Advising Emirates NBD Bank and Arab Bank in relation to a US$150 million secured facility agreement for a UAE healthcare group.
• Advising the secured term loan and revolver lenders on the UAE law aspects of Syncreon Group B.V.’s global restructuring.
• Advising Standard Chartered Bank in relation to its rights under secured syndicated facilities to NMC Healthcare LLC and the impact of a potential administration of NMC Healthcare’s LSE-listed parent company.
• Advising Standard Chartered Bank in relation to a settlement agreement with a regional contracting company and an evaluation of the risks for it to be challenged as an antecedent transaction under the new UAE insolvency law.
• Advising a confidential family office in relation to a contentious circa US$10 billion corporate restructuring and associated dispute prevention work concerning a regional conglomerate with businesses and/or holdings across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jersey, Guernsey, Cayman Islands, Yemen, Indonesia, India, the US, the UK and Egypt.
• Advising a confidential family office in relation to (i) the structuring and establishment of a new investment holding entity, (ii) a series of liquid, share and real estate asset acquisitions and (iii) an event-driven sale of multiple assets and shares, across the GCC, the Far East and the UK, comprising over 400 divestments and acquisitions in total.
• Advising Total in relation to the restructuring of its stake in the Masdar Shams 1 Solar Project in Abu Dhabi pursuant to the filing by Abengoa (its joint venture partner) for insolvency protections in Spain.
• Advising an international oilfield services company in relation to a standstill agreement and subsequent restructuring of an US$84 million debt facility with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, the potential sale of certain assets across various jurisdictions, including England and Wales, the British Virgin Islands, the UAE, Singapore and the Republic of Iraq, and a series of additional amendments and waivers related to the initial restructuring.

Islamic Finance

• Advising Rasmala plc, as lender, in relation to a convertible loan to DiamondCorp plc, a Southern Africa focused diamond mine development and exploration company, secured against Belgian law security over diamonds in inventory.
• Advising ABC Islamic Bank, as lead arranger, on a Shariah-compliant financing to a Kuwaiti aviation leasing company.
• Advising Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, as mandated lead arranger, in relation to the secured US$300 million conventional and Islamic financing of the Viceroy Hotel and Residences (now the FIVE Palm Jumeirah Hotel) with by SKAI Holding as borrower.
• Advising GFH Capital in relation to a £12 million commodity murabaha to finance the acquisition of super-prime London real estate.
• Advising GFH Capital, the 25% shareholders of Leeds United Football Club, on the Shariah-compliant refinancing of long-term and short-term loans of approximately £30 million in aggregate.
• Advising a Saudi Arabian FMCG company in relation to its US$40 million ijara facilities with ICD.
• Advising Gulf Marine Services plc in relation to the US$530 million multivessel ijara refinancing tied to the company’s IPO on the London Stock Exchange.
• Advising a Nigerian FMCG company in relation to its US$10 million loan with Access Bank and related parent company guarantees arrangements.

General Debt Finance

• Advising GEMS Education in relation to various amendments and extensions of a US$300 million syndicated accordion facilities agreement.
• Advising a syndicate of international and GCC banks in relation to a US$5.5 billion revolving facilities agreement for Saudi Aramco.
• Advising JP Morgan in relation to a £1.3 billion acquisition financing of a European gas company.
• Advising Standard Chartered Bank, as mandated lead arranger, on the US$ 650 million acquisition financing of US-based Decision Resources Group by the Piramal Healthcare Group of India.
• Advising Rabobank (Hong Kong), as facility agent, in respect of an amendment and restatement of a senior facilities agreement for United Spirits Limited, permitting it to issue a high-yield bond and/or a foreign currency convertible bond.
• Advising Mubadala GE Capital in relation to a US$35 million borrowing base facility to a major GCC-based telecoms company.
• Advising Goldman Sachs on behalf of a syndicate of lenders providing a secured US$320 million margin loan to a Portuguese conglomerate.
• Advising JP Morgan in relation to a £500 million secured syndicated facility for Essar Energy.
• Advising Barclays Bank plc, as the mandated lead arranger, on a £400 million revolving credit facility for a FTSE 100 global technology company.
• Advising Galana Africa Limited (and the Galana Group), a Dubai-headquartered company (specialising in trading, shipping, terminal storage and distribution of refined petroleum products in East and Southern Africa,) in relation to a US$64 million secured facility agreement with a club of international and East African banks.
• Advising Emirates NBD Bank in relation to a AED25 million bilateral loan to a medical group.
• Advising Capital One regarding the UAE legal and regulatory regime applicable to secured lending transactions.
• Advising Macquarie Bank (London branch) in relation to a series separate bilateral facility agreements to UAE-based borrowers totalling over US$100 million.
• Advising Emirates NBD Bank and Arab Bank in relation to the AED50 million refinancing of existing bilateral loans into a secured syndicated facility.
• Advising MENA Capital Limited in relation to a dual-tranche facility and convertible loan to a regional satellite channel company.