Dechert fights off magic circle for Kuwaiti bond

Dechert has seen off competition from the magic circle, winning a beauty parade to advise on a $2bn (£970m) Middle Eastern bond issuance.

The firm, led by London-based partner Abradat Kamalpour, advised Audi Saudi Arabia, Dresdner Kleinwort, JPMorgan, UBS, Standard Chartered Bank and West LB on the bond issued by Kuwaiti company Global Investment House.

Kamalpour said: "This is usually the kind of work the magic circle wins, so we're pleased that our work building up our reputation and strengthening our presence has paid off. We pitched against magic circle firms so this is a great development for us."

Earlier this year (30 July) The Lawyer reported that Dechert advised on the establishment and London Stock Exchange listing of a $1bn (£485m) sukuk certificate programme for Bahrain's Gulf Finance House.

Kamalpour advised Dresdner and HSBC as co-arrangers, dealers and bookrunners on the deal.

He said: "This recent deal has really come from the relationships we've built with the banks in this region from work such as the Gulf Finance sukuk programme."

Clifford Chance advised Global Investment House, led by capital markets partner David Dunnigan.