Dentons Facilitates Kuwait Finance House $1B Sukuk Issuance 

International law firm, Dentons has provided legal counsel to the international and regional joint lead managers in the establishment of a US$4 billion trust certificate issuance program by Kuwait Finance House (KFH). The issuance involved KFH’s issuance of US$1 billion five-year senior unsecured trust certificates (sukuk) under the program, which successfully concluded on January 17, 2024. The sukuk issuance took place through a special purpose vehicle issuer incorporated in the Cayman Islands and was subsequently listed on the International Securities Market in London. Several major international and regional banks served as lead managers for the issuance. 

The issuance represented KFH’s inaugural senior unsecured sukuk issuance and attracted significant demand from global and regional institutional investors. 

Alex Roussos, Managing Partner of Dentons’ Dubai office, noted: “We are delighted to have supported the joint lead managers, KFH and KFH Capital teams in what has been one of the most significant capital markets transactions out of Kuwait in recent years. A lot of work went into structuring the programme so that it is AAOIFI-compliant and reflects the latest thinking around relevant Shari’a principles, and all parties worked incredibly hard on the trade to ensure this would be a very successful deal. We look forward to many similarly successful transactions out of our region this year”. 

The Dentons team in Dubai was led by partner Alex Roussos (pictured), with assistance from senior associates Brian O’Leary and Sana Siddiqui, and senior legal consultant Katie Phillips.