K&L Gates advises NASDAQ Dubai

K&L Gates LLP has advised Emirates REIT (CEIC) Limited (Emirates REIT), the United Arab Emirates-based real estate investment trust, on its initial public offering (IPO) on NASDAQ Dubai — the first IPO in the UAE in five years. The IPO raised US$175 million (before the exercise of the over-allotment arrangements) and was over-subscribed 3.5 times.

Emirates REIT is the first Shari’ah compliant regulated real estate investment trust incorporated in the Dubai International Financial Centre.

In addition to the IPO being the first in the UAE since the 2008 crash, this was the first-ever IPO of a DFSA-regulated real estate investment trust and, also, the prospectus and IPO documentation were fully Shari’ah compliant, giving K&L Gates unique experience in the region.

The K&L Gates capital markets team that advised Emirates REIT is based in Dubai and is led by partner Owen Waft. Waft was assisted by capital markets associates Jennifer Lovesy and Amr Jaghoub and corporate associate Leonard Taylor. Finance/regulatory partner Natalie Boyd and real estate counsel Joanna Klat also supported the team.