Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has advised Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) on its $1.25 billion sukuk, part of the $5 billion it raised in Asia's largest bond offering so far this year, with Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy acting for the bookrunners, and Norton Rose Fulbright representing the delegate trustee.
Adnan Sundra & Low and Kadir Andri & Partners provided Malaysian law advice.
According to Reuters, Petronas will use its first foray into the debt market in six years for corporate expenses as well as possible acquisitions. The $5 billion issue comes as the cost of insuring Malaysian sovereign debt has risen the most this year compared to its Southeast Asian peers.
The Milbank team, led by Singapore-based partner Naomi Ishikawa and London-based partner John Dewar, advised the dealers and underwriters BofA Merrill Lynch, CIMB, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Maybank and MUFG.
The Norton Rose Fulbright team advising The Bank of New York Mellon in its role as delegate trustee was led by Singapore-based Of Counsel Vicky Jones.
Petronas has, for the last three years, bought several overseas assets to shore up future earnings as output slows at home, according to Reuters. In 2012, it acquired Canada's Progress Energy Resources in a $5 billion deal that gave it shale gas properties in northeastern British Columbia.
