Dubai-based Majid al-Futtaim (MAF) has completed a $1bn loan deal, just a few weeks after putting a planned bond issue on hold.

The loan is split between a three-year revolving credit facility and a five-year loan, pricing starts at 275 basis points above the London interbank offered rate (Libor), putting the margin on the deal lower than some of the recent Dubai government related loans. MAF arranged the deal itself.

The UK’s Barclays and Standard Chartered, France’s Credit Agricole, and Emirates NBD acted as lead arrangers on the deal, with Saudi Arabia’s Samba, National Bank of Kuwait, and the local Union National Bank, Mashreqbank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, and National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

The funds will be used to refinance a $1bn loan that matures in July 2012 and is about 50 per cent drawn, MAF said in a statement.

The company put plans to issue a bond on hold in June after worries about European sovereign debt caused a spike in bond prices. It is expected to try and access the bond markets again later in the year, once pricing has come back down (MEED 15:07:11).