A $500 million 5-year sukuk of the Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group was successfully priced, after investors ordered for nearly four times the issuance.
This transaction was priced approximately 240bps tighter than GFH’s previous issuance in 2020 (relative to the US Treasury benchmark). The final order book closed at more than $2 billion.
International investors were allocated more than 50 per cent of the issuance with the remaining going to regional and local investors. This included a diverse mix of fund managers, private banks and financial institutions.
The proceeds of the sukuk will enhance the group’s financial position and fund its ongoing growth and diversification strategies.
Hisham Alrayes, GFH’s Group CEO, commented: “Strong demand for the issuance from a diverse group of international and regional institutional investors underscores the strength of our franchise and the reputation that GFH has built.
“It is also a testament to the confidence we enjoy in our strategy, robust business model, and prospects as we expand our investments and global presence across priority sectors and markets, including the GCC, US and Europe.”
JP Morgan, Standard Chartered Bank, Sharjah Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, Kamco Invest, Mashreq, Warba Bank, Al Rajhi Capital, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Bank ABC were the joint lead managers and joint bookrunners.
GFH, which is listed in both Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and Dubai Financial Market (DFM), apart from the Bahrain Bourse, has more than $21 billion of assets and assets under management. Its global portfolio includes logistics, healthcare, education and technology in the MENA region, Europe and North America.
Follow us on
