Deal of the year awarded to Seera's acquisition of BWA water additives

Seera Investment Bank (Seera) was recognized for its acquisition of the leading UK based water treatment solution provider in the Islamic Finance category.

Commenting on the award, Mr. Abdulla Janahi, Seera's Chief Executive Officer said:

"This recognition demonstrates the growing strength and influence of regional and Shari'a compliant banks like Seera in structuring investment deals especially in this challenging economic environment. The award is also a testament to the dedication and skill of Seera's management team and all the partners involved."

"We are delighted by this acknowledgment of our capability to add significant value to our portfolio and provide niche investment opportunities to our investors. We will continue to leverage our in-depth knowledge of Islamic financing instruments and our regional and international expertise to generate value for our investors" he added.

BWA has 35 years of market leadership in developing and marketing high performance chemicals for water treatment, and has an established presence in a market that deters new entrants with high regulatory barriers, high entry costs and specialized know-how requirements.

The Company has a well-developed portfolio of high performance branded products to meet the requirements of 370 customers in 85 countries. The portfolio covers three high growth segments: water desalination, industrial water treatment processes and secondary oil recovery.

The company's products are used to treat microbiological growth in process water and to control and prevent corrosion of iron and steel as well as inorganic deposits on the surface of pumps and pipes. It constantly upgrades its products through research conducted at its two laboratories in the UK and the USA.

The acquisition of BWA was financed by a multi-tranche facility of more than $100m, including a mezzanine tranche. Denominated in dollars, the facility was structured to meet the strict Shari'a requirements of Seera Investment Bank.

To add to the challenge, the documentation had to comply with tax and legal requirements in seven jurisdictions and involved rolling over a proportion of the existing management team's equity into the new ownership model.

Shari'a compliant financing for the transaction was provided by reputable international financing institutions, while the advisors to the transaction included Business Development Asia LLC (Bahrain / UK) as Corporate Finance Advisor, Stephenson Harwood (UK) as Corporate Legal Counsel, and King & Spalding (UK / Dubai) as Shari'a Structuring and Finance Legal Counsel.