Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) on a $848 million Shariah-compliant bridge facility for its merger with Vela International Marine.

Latham & Watkins acted for financiers JP Morgan, Samba Financial Group, and Saudi British Bank, which arranged the facility for the merger.

The merger was completed in 2012, after state oil giant Saudi Aramco, agreed to sell Vela to Bahri for $832.75 million in cash, and 78.75 million new Bahri shares. The shares gave Saudi Aramco a 20 percent stake in Bahri.

The financing will be used to fund the cash consideration and associated costs of merging Vela’s ships, staff, and business systems with Bahri.

The Freshfields team was led by corporate partner Fares Al-Hejailan, who is based in Ridyadh.

The Latham & Walkins team was led by Ridyadh-based project finance partner Salman Al-Sudairi, and finance partner Dan Maze, who is based in London.

Freshfield’s associate firm in Saudi Arabia, The Law Firm of Salah Al Hejailan, advised Bahri on local law.

The merger marked the largest ever M&A deal in Saudi Arabia, and resulted in Bahri becoming the world’s third-largest owner of very large crude carriers (VLCC). Bahri will also become the exclusive carrier of all Saudi Aramco VLCC-sized crude oil cargo sold on delivery.  

The merger means Bahri now has 77 vessels in its fleet, including 32 VLCCs.