MEED reported that Gulf International Bank is working on arranging up to USD 2 billion worth of debt for United Arab Shipping Company to fund the acquisition of new ships and the continued expansion of the business.

According to the report, the debt will be split between a USD 500 million corporate facility that is expected to be completed by mid July and a USD 1.5 billion ship acquisition facility that should be completed later in the year. The deal has been increased in size from the USD 400 million initially sought by the firm.

The report also added that, the USD 500 million loans for the Kuwait based company will have tenure of five years and is expected to be priced at 200 basis points over the London interbank offered rate with fees of between 100 and 125 basis points.

Six regional institutions are expected to form the banking group for the facility, including banks from Bahrain, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.