Dhabaan & Partners in association with Eversheds Sutherland advise on largest financing deal in Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector history

AlDhabaan & Partners in association with Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP has advised the Saudi lenders to Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation (“Saudia”) in relation to the financing of the partial acquisition of 73 new aircrafts, which includes Airbus and Boeing variants.

The financing agreement worth SAR11.2 billion (USD3 billion), is the largest of its kind in Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector history and emphasizes Saudia’s commitment to actively promoting tourism into the Kingdom, in line with the Vision 2030 objectives. HSBC Saudi Arabia acted as the Financial Advisor for Saudi Arabian Airlines and was the appointed Investment Agent in the transaction. The lenders were six Saudi banks including, Al Rajhi Bank, Saudi British Bank (SABB), Arab National Bank (ANB), Samba Financial Group, Bank AlJazira, and Bank Albilad.

The AlDhabaan & Partners in association with Eversheds Sutherland team was led by Fahad AlDehais AlMalki (managing partner, Saudi Arabia) with support provided by Clint Dempsey (partner, Banking & Finance), Sikander Siddiqui (senior associate, Banking & Finance) and David Tan (senior associate, Banking & Finance).