BizBahrain April 2016

Banking & Finance
Loan Facility arranged
for Bahrain Commercial
Facilities Company
Ahli United Bank B.S.C. (AUB”), Arab
Banking Corporation (B.S.C.) (Bank
ABC) and Gulf International Bank B.S.C.
(GIB), acting as the Mandated Lead
Arrangers and Book Runners (MLABs),
successfully closed a US$125 million
5-year Term Loan Facility (Facility) on
behalf of Bahrain Commercial Facilities
Company (BCFC). The purpose of the
Facility, which was signed on 14th
December 2015, is for refinancing and
general corporate purposes.
The MLABs were joined by Arab Bank
and National Bank of Bahrain as The
MLABs were joined by Arab Bank and
National Bank of Bahrain as Arrangers.
Chief Executive Officer of BCFC, Dr.
Adel Hubail, thanked all the participating
banks for their support in successfully
closing this syndication. He mentioned
that “The successful closing of this
Facility is a testament of BCFC’s solid
and stable financial standing in the
capital markets as well as sound
business model, strong management
expertise, prudent risk management and
overall growth strategy adopted by the
Company.”
The MLABs expressed their delight
with the closure of the transaction and
wished the borrower continued growth
and prosperity in the future.
Legal & General Gulf is
now Al Hilal Life
Legal & General Gulf announced that
its name have changed to ‘Al Hilal
Life’ effective from 1st April 2016. The
name change follows the change in
company’s ownership in October 2015
with Ahli United Bank B.S.C. acquiring
Legal & General Group’s 50% stake in
Legal & General Gulf. Ahli United Bank
now holds 100% of the company’s shares.
Commenting on the rebranding
initiative, Sanjeev Baijal, Chairman of
the company, said “The change in name
reflects the new ownership structure
and is a step towards realigning the
company more closely to its current
and prospective customers while
maintaining its own identity.” He added
that “Life insurance business is an
integral part of AUB Group’s product
offering and AUB remains committed to
develop the same”.
According to Mr. Baijal, the plan for
Al Hilal Life is to develop from being
primarily a bancassurer in Bahrain into
a more rounded life insurer. AUB has
been a shareholder in the company
since its incorporation in 2009 and has
also experienced success through its
bancassurance arrangement.
The name of Legal & General Gulf
Takaful, a wholly owned subsidiary,
will also be changed to ‘Al Hilal Takaful’
effective 1st April 2016. “The company
will continue to offer Takaful products
through its subsidiary which focuses on
Family Takaful based product offerings
and that will be further expanded
through introduction of new and
enhanced products,” said Mr Abdulla Al
Raeesi, Deputy Chairman.
VC Bank & Seera
Investment Bank announce
acquisition of a real estate
portfolio in the US
Venture Capital Bank BSC (c) and
Seera Investment Bank BSC (c) (The
Consortium) announced the successful
acquisition and completion of the
subscription of a real estate portfolio
consisting of two multifamily residential
assets in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, consisting
of 866 units. This investment marks the
Consortium's first investment in the
US Multifamily sector and has been in
cooperation with a US partner that has
extensive experience in the management
and operation of multifamily residential
assets.
After closely screening and reviewing
many investment opportunities in
various major US metropolitan areas,
the Consortium chose the city of Atlanta,
due to its robust economic factors
which are expected to continue during
the investment holding period. It's
well-known that a large number of the
Fortune 500 companies are headquartered
in Atlanta making it the fourth most
city with headquartered Fortune 500
companies behind New York City,
Houston, and Dallas. Atlanta is witnessing
strong population and job growth and
represents an attractive real estate market
with high potential for further rental
growth and value appreciation, which
will positively enhance the value of the
investment.
Bridgewater property sits on a 260,000
square meters gated land and consists
of 532 residential units spread over 36
residential buildings, while Preston Creek
property sits on a 206,000 square meters
gated land consists of 334 residential
units spread over 19 residential buildings.
Both properties have excellent locations
in Atlanta and feature a wide range of
recreational facilities within its lush
garden-style community.
The Consortium announced that
the portfolio's attractive returns enabled
the full successful placement with their
investors in the GCC. Furthermore,
the performance of the properties in
the portfolio for the first quarter has
been consistent with the projections
and therefore, it was able to distribute
the projected yield amounting to an
annual cash on cash return of 8.5%, to
investors participating in this investment
opportunity.
62 May 2016