The Dubai Duty Free (DDF) announced that it has mandated Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Emirates NBD Capital Limited and Standard Chartered Bank and each of their respective affiliates, as appropriate, to arrange US$750,000,000 senior unsecured Conventional and Islamic Financing Facilities to be entered into by DDF as obligor.
The Facilities comprise a Conventional term loan facility and Islamic facilities. The purpose of the Facilities is to optimize DDF’s capital structure and to finance the further development of Dubai International Airport (DIA). DDF is the exclusive operator of airport retail duty free shops at DIA.
Commenting on the financing facilities, Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman of Dubai Duty Free said: “We are very pleased with the positive response that the financing facility has elicited. This is a three bank agreement which we believe is a positive indicator and highlights the confidence that the banking community has in DDF. We are also pleased to have agreed a margin of 225 basis points above libor on this 100% US$ facility, along with no commitment fee. This is a very successful financing agreement which reflects the strong fundamentals of our business .
Source: WAM
