Dentons advises ABGC

Dentons has acted as legal counsel to the syndicate of financiers on a landmark Shari’a-compliant syndicated ship financing totalling USD235 million for an Al Seer Marine and BGN joint venture, ABGC. The financing marks the second tranche of a larger syndicated financing totalling USD370 million for the delivery of five dual-fuel-efficient vessels in total. The second USD235 million tranche will be used to finance the construction of a further three state-of-the-art very large gas carriers (VLGCs) in South Korea and Japan, following the successful delivery of the first two vessels under the first tranche.

The syndicate of financiers comprised Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) and The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a multilateral development financial institution and the private sector arm of Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).

Nathaniel Armstrong, partner in Dentons’ Banking and Finance practice and Abu Dhabi office managing partner, who led on the transaction for the syndicate of financiers, with assistance from senior associate Shaakir Daud and associate Najeeb Gill, commented, “We love doing deals like this and it was a real honour for us to be entrusted by all the parties to help bring it to life. This is a landmark deal. The first tranche was the first US dollar SOFR-based Islamic construction pre-delivery ship financing, not just in the Middle East but I suspect globally too. It was particularly pleasing that the second tranche was so popular with banks across the region. This deal exemplifies precisely what sets Dentons apart from our peers in both the shipping and Islamic financing spaces. English, UAE, DIFC, Hong Kong, Korean, Marshall Islands, Cayman Islands, Japanese and Maltese law were all relevant and needed coordinating alongside our Islamic and shipping finance expertise. Noting the fuel efficiency of the vessels here, we are also delighted to have further contributed to the shipping industry’s move towards the IMO’s net zero 2050 target, which accords with our own efforts at Dentons to reduce our carbon footprint.”