Baker McKenzie advises on Egypt’s $2 bln deal with regional, international banks

Law firm giant Baker McKenzie said on Wednesday that it has been appointed as legal counsel to the Egyptian government on signing of a $2 billion syndicated financing deal.

With a tenor of 12 months, the financing was multi-sourced and provided in the form of a conventional commercial facility worth $1.490 billion and an Islamic facility worth $510 million. It represents the first sovereign debt that Egypt has raised from commercial lenders.

The deal involved a consortium of 18 international and regional banks and was led by teams in Cairo and Dubai. Emirates NBD Capital and First Abu Dhabi Bank were joint coordinators and lead managers of the deal.

Approved by the parliament, the financing aims at “financing the state budget and supporting the Egyptian economy in order to maintain its strong path in the face of fluctuations prevailing in global markets”, the finance ministry said in a statement on Monday. It seeks to bridge the financing deficit for the current financial year 2020/2021 resulting from the coronavirus outbreak.

“This deal is of great significance to the Arab Republic of Egypt as it will aid the Egyptian Economy during this unprecedented time and contribute to the government’s efforts of setting the country on a path to both recover and thrive as we emerge from the global pandemic.” Mohamed Ghannam, Managing Partner and Head of Banking and Finance at Helmy, Hamza and Partners, Baker McKenzie Cairo office said in a statement.

Sandeep Puri, Head of Banking and Finance at Baker McKenzie in Dubai, added: “This financing is a landmark for the Arab Republic of Egypt and demonstrates the ongoing confidence local, regional and international banks have in the Egyptian economy – we have been proud to support.”