Latham & Watkins advises Dana Gas on restructuring of USD1 billion Sukuk

ana Gas PJSC, the largest independent oil and gas company in the UAE, has successfully completed the restructuring of its USD1 billion Trust Certificates (sukuk al-mudarabah). The restructuring, the first of its kind in the Middle East, was implemented through the exchange of Dana Gas’ existing sukuk certificates with two tranches of new sukuk certificates (one convertible and one non-convertible tranche), each with a 5 year tenor. 

The restructuring of Dana Gas’ sukuk was closely watched by the market participants as the first consensual restructuring of a sukuk implemented in this manner and its particular relevance to the Middle East market given the number of liabilities of a diverse variety of issuers that are expected to fall due in the near future. The restructuring was particularly complex on account of the Sharia’ah structure underpinning the existing sukuk and Dana Gas’ strong desire that the restructuring be implemented through a Sharia’ah-compliant method.