Mubadala sets deadline for Zayed University financing

03 November 2009

Eleven banks provide funding for $1bn campus

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Company has set a date of 19 November for the completion of the financing for its $1bn Zayed University project.

The date has been brought forward from 26 November after the banks involved in the deal completed commitment letters formalising their participation in the financing by 25 October.

The banking group includes 11 regional and international banks, including France’s Calyon, Natixis and Societe Generale, the UAE’s Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, First Gulf Bank and Mashreqbank, Japan’s Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and the UK’s Royal Bank of Scotland.

The funding of the project is split between a $800m debt tranche, split evenly between a dollar and a dirham tranche, both with a tenor of 10 years and pricing starting at 290 basis points above the London interbank offered rate (Libor) (MEED 6:7:09).

Mubadala first approached banks about financing for the project in April, but the process has been held up because some banks raised concerns about the level of repayment guarantees on the project.

The Zayed University campus will cover 800,000 square metres and will accommodate 6,000 students. It is the second university public-private partnership (PPP) transaction in Abu Dhabi, following the $385m financing for Paris-Sorbonne University in December 2008.

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