Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) in relation to its role as sole bookrunner for Kuwait Energy's inaugural high yield bond which is comprised of US$250 million senior guaranteed notes due 2019.

Kuwait Energy is an independent oil and gas company actively engaged in the exploration, appraisal, development and production of hydrocarbons across the MENA region and certain other jurisdictions. The Group's asset portfolio consists of 51 exploration and development licences in six countries, with the core MENA region of Egypt, Iraq, Yemen and Oman accounting for 47 of these licences.

A portion of the proceeds of the bond will be used to refinance its existing bank facilities, to partially fund capital expenditures, and for general corporate purposes.

The Herbert Smith Freehills team was led by US capital markets partner Alex Bafi, with support from associates Dinesh Banani and Yuji Huang.

Alex Bafi comments: "We are very pleased to have advised BAML on Kuwait Energy's inaugural high yield bond. This transaction continues to demonstrate the strength of our capital markets practice and follows closely on from recent high-profile work including our roles advising the underwriters on the Emirates REIT IPO (which was the first IPO on NASDAQ Dubai since 2009), the Zoopla Property IPO and £1 billion premium listing on the London Stock exchange, and the £350 million Premier Foods placing and rights issue."

Allen & Overy advised Kuwait Energy.