DLA Piper was awarded “Kuwait Deal of the Year” in the annual IFN Awards for advising on the restructuring of the Lagoon City Sukuk. The issuance of sukuk is generally regarded as the Islamic finance equivalent of a bond issue. The matter was also runner-up for “Deal of the Year – Restructuring.” IFN is the world’s leading Islamic finance news provider and the IFN Awards recognise the leading players and their achievements and contributions to the global Islamic finance industry.

This is a first-of-its-kind restructuring involving an original issue of USD200m Sukuk al Musharaka, which had been in distress for a number of years with court proceedings not yielding the desired results and the certificateholders faced with dwindling prospects of any return.

The team, led by James Iremonger (Partner, Restructuring) and Paul McViety (Partner, Head of Islamic Finance), supported by a wider regional team, including Peter Somekh (Regional Managing Partner) advised on a novel structure to accommodate the first asset-for-asset restructuring in relation to a Kuwaiti sukuk arrangement and on an innovative arrangement that was deployed to switch in 'new' assets. The Islamic finance team worked closely with restructuring experts to provide innovative solutions to the clients, allowing the certificateholders to start realising some of the value from their original sukuk investments.

The deal underpins DLA Piper’s regional team’s continued strength and ability to deliver successful outcomes for clients, as one of the only dedicated restructuring and insolvency teams in the region.

James Iremonger commented: “The Islamic finance industry has transformed into a position of real significance within global financial services, and as legal advisors we are proud to be at the forefront of offering restructuring solutions if deals do face distress. Winning this award is fantastic recognition and a testament to the cutting-edge and novel work our combined expertise delivers.”