AS&H in cooperation with Clifford Chance advises SABIC on the acquisition of a stake in Ar-Razi

AS&H in cooperation with Clifford Chance advised Saudi Basic Industries Corporation on the acquisition of an additional 25 per cent stake in, and extension of the term of, its joint venture in Saudi Methanol Company (Ar-Razi) with the Japan Saudi Arabia Methanol Company Inc.

Abuhimed Alsheikh Alhagbani Law Firm (AS&H) in cooperation with Clifford Chance advised Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) on the acquisition of an additional 25 per cent stake in, and extension of the term of, its joint venture in Saudi Methanol Company (Ar-Razi) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the Japan Saudi Arabia Methanol Company Inc. (JSMC).

Ar-Razi develops, owns and operates a methanol production complex in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. SABIC purchased an additional 25 per cent in Ar-Razi from JSMC for US$150 million, increasing its aggregate stake to 75 per cent of Ar-Razi (the remaining 25 per cent is owned by JSMC). SABIC also simultaneously extended its partnership with JSMC in Ar-Razi for 20 years, for which JSMC agreed to pay SABIC USD1.35 billion. A share purchase agreement was signed in December 2018 and the transaction closed in July 2019.

AS&H in cooperation with Clifford Chance advised SABIC on the share purchase agreement, revised shareholders’ agreement and a number of ancillary commercial agreements as well as the related antitrust filings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Japan.

The AS&H team was led by Majid Al-Sheikh (AS&H Partner and Head of Corporate) and Omar Rashid (Clifford Chance Partner seconded to AS&H) with Christian Both (Clifford Chance Counsel seconded to AS&H), Rizwan Butt (Clifford Chance Senior Associate, Dubai), Adnan Syed and Ahmad Al-Sadhan (both associates in Riyadh) providing support.

Additional support was provided by Clifford Chance’s global antitrust team and Japanese corporate team, including Tony Reeves (Partner, Brussels), Tatsuhiko Kamiyama (Partner, Tokyo), Jim Back (Counsel, Brussels), Masafumi Shikakura (Counsel, Tokyo),Tomas Pavelka (Associate, Brussels) and Hisao Ito (Associate, Tokyo).

Majid Al-Sheikh commented, “We are proud to have advised SABIC on this important transaction for the Kingdom and the region and would like to thank SABIC for putting their trust and confidence in our team on such an important mandate”.

Omar Rashid remarked, “Supporting SABIC on this strategic transaction has been extremely rewarding and has enabled us to reinforce our longstanding global client relationship with them”.