King & Spalding Advises on EUR 16.3 Million Real Estate Refinancing

LONDON--(Marketwire - January 19, 2010) - King & Spalding announced today that it represented a Luxembourg-based Shari'ah-compliant real estate fund advised by Pramerica Real Estate Investors in connection with a EUR 16.3 million Shari'ah-compliant refinancing of an Hungarian shopping and entertainment centre.

King & Spalding was responsible for structuring the Shari'ah-compliant refinancing, which was structured on an Ijara-wa-iqtina (lease-to-own) basis with a complex split structure due to the anchor tenant having already entered into a long-term lease. This transaction represents the first Shari'ah-compliant Ijara-wa-iqtina to be implemented in Hungary. Hypo Investmentbank AG provided the debt funding for the refinancing.

The King & Spalding legal team on the transaction was led by partner Jawad I. Ali with assistance from associate Robin Balmer.

"The completion of this refinancing culminates an active period for the Middle East and Islamic finance practice at King & Spalding, which has advised clients on Shari'ah-compliant financings and refinancings across Europe and the Middle East, including the UK, the Netherlands, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and now Hungary," Ali said. Balmer added: "In addition to its Shari'ah-compliant structure, the Pramerica transaction also posed challenges arising from its split structure and Hungarian law, which we overcame with innovative solutions."

About King & Spalding

King & Spalding is an international law firm with more than 800 lawyers in Abu Dhabi, Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dubai, Frankfurt, Houston, London, New York, Paris, Riyadh (affiliated office), San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. The firm represents half of the Fortune 100 and, according to a Corporate Counsel survey in August 2009, ranks fifth in its total number of representations of those companies. For additional information, visit www.kslaw.com.

Contact Information: Contact: King & Spalding Les Zuke +1 212 827 4392 lzuke@kslaw.com