First Abu Dhabi Bank reinforced its standing as the Gulf’s preeminent financier in 2024, advising a string of market-leading loan and structured finance mandates.
Ranked the region’s top loan bookrunner by deal count, the bank closed more than 200 bilateral, club and syndicated facilities, evidence of the depth of its relationship lending model. A notable illustration came in March, when FAB coordinated a multi-tranche term-loan package for Africa Finance Corporation that blended conventional and Islamic tranches and drew lenders from three continents.
Additionally, complex event-driven deals showcased its leveraged-finance expertise. In June, FAB underwrote and syndicated the $3.25 billion-equivalent buy-out refinancing for GEMS Education, combining sustainability-linked pricing with intricate hedging. October’s Optics BidCo acquisition financing in Europe, where FAB sat alongside global peers as arranger, further underlined its ability to export GCC liquidity and structuring expertise.
The bank’s project-finance team continued to support the region’s energy transition. Green coordinator roles on the Amaala multi-utilities project financing and the Al Henakiyah solar park financing in Saudi Arabia, in addition to earlier roles at the DEWA VI solar PV facility and Abu Dhabi’s waste-to-energy scheme, each featuring long-tenor green term loans and bespoke hedging arranged by FAB’s markets desk.
Ranked the region’s top loan bookrunner by deal count, the bank closed more than 200 bilateral, club and syndicated facilities
The bank’s footprint in transport infrastructure was also on full display with the Dh3.67 billion ($1 billion) Hafeet Rail term facility, where it combined on-shore and off-shore account-bank roles.
Real estate finance stayed resilient despite rising rates: more than 40 transactions closed, among them a sustainability-linked revolving credit line for Aldar Properties and a sterling-denominated development loan for London’s Bermondsey regeneration.
The bank’s aviation team arranged Etihad Airways’ syndicated revolving credit line in December, noteworthy for incorporating an ESG performance ratchet aligned to IATA emissions targets. Fund-finance desks, meanwhile, provided flexible capital-call and NAV facilities to global managers such as TPG Gazelle and Pemberton, often in short execution windows.
Threaded through all business lines was a sustainability agenda that made FAB the region’s top green loan coordinator. More than 60 ESG-labelled transactions were completed, including Sharjah’s inaugural sustainable ijarah facility and a multi-currency dual-green loan for Turkey’s Akbank – transactions that blended strong investor demand and pricing with credible environmental metrics.
