Abu Dhabi state investment fund Aabar Investments has launched the syndication of a $2bn loan that will mature on 21 May 2013.

According to a Reuters report which cites bankers close to the deal, it will be split between a $1.4bn term loan and a $600m revolving facility, with a margin of 150 basis points (bps) over LIBOR.

Lenders are invited to commit $150m for an upfront fee of 125 bps.

Bookrunners are Germany’s Deutsche Bank, the US’ Morgan Stanley, the UK’s Royal bank of Scotland and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

They were joined by Switzerland’s Credit Suisse and Abu Dhabi’s Union National Bank ahead of the launch and together they have partially prefunded to the tune of $1.4bn, said the bankers.

Aabar has been grabbing the headlines in recent weeks. On 27 June, it paid $2.3bn for a 4.99 per cent stake in UniCredit, Italy’s largest bank by market capitalisation.

Meanwhile, it surprised investors on 22 June when it announced that it is considering delisting from the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and converting into a private joint-stock company. The Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange General Index has declined by 6.9 per cent this year.

Aabar’s assets currently stand at around $10bn.