LAWFUEL – The Legal Newswire – The Dubai and Hong Kong offices of Clifford Chance LLP have advised Leighton Holdings, Australia’s largest project development and contracting group, on its acquisition of a 45% stake in Al Habtoor Engineering Enterprises, one of the largest construction companies in the Gulf region, which has built the Burj Al Arab 7* hotel and Dubai International Airport. This represents the largest private sector acquisition by a foreign company of shares in a UAE company.
The consideration comprises USD 715 million in cash plus the merging of Leighton International’s operations in the Arabian Gulf with Al Habtoor Engineering Enterprises, which, in aggregate, values the deal at approximately USD 865 million. The cash consideration consisted partly of leveraged acquisition finance organised by Macquarie Bank Limited as financial adviser to Leighton Holdings.
Mike Taylor comments: “We were very pleased to advise Leighton Holdings on this high-profile acquisition, which was complicated by a challenging debt market and difficult structuring issues, for which we devised novel solutions. Following on from our recent work on the USD 1.4 billion acquisition of Egyptian Fertilisers Company (SAE), Clifford Chance continues to demonstrate its market-leading expertise advising on ground-breaking international and regional mergers and acquisitions.”
The Clifford Chance team was led by partner Iain Hunter and senior associate Mike Taylor, with partner Peter Avery leading the finance team.
