GLA & Company, the leading regional Arab Civil Law firm in the Middle East and the largest law firm in the State of Kuwait, is proud to announce its role as Kuwait counsel to Brookfield in connection with Project Peregrine (مشروع شاهين), the landmark US$16 billion lease and leaseback infrastructure partnership with Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) involving KOC’s crude oil pipeline network.

The transaction, which has been described as the largest foreign direct investment in the history of the State of Kuwait, represents a transformative milestone for Kuwait’s energy and infrastructure sector and underscores the continued confidence of international investors in the State of Kuwait’s economy and strategic vision.

Under the transaction, KOC and the investor consortium, comprising global infrastructure and alternative asset management giants Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR, have established a newly incorporated Kuwaiti joint venture vehicle, in which KOC holds a 51% interest and the consortium collectively holds the remaining 49% through an off-shore structure. The transaction is structured through a lease and leaseback arrangement involving the usage rights to KOC’s crude oil pipeline network of 13 pipelines. KOC continues to own, operate and maintain the pipeline network. 

GLA & Co served as Kuwait counsel to Brookfield both before and after it joined the consortium with Blackstone and KKR, advising on all Kuwaiti law matters throughout the transaction. This corporate/sponsor engagement was led by Nevine Abou Alam, Partner and Head of Corporate and M&A, together with Partner Mohammed Al Awadhi, Legal Counsel Suzanne Hashem, Senor Associate Jehan Saleh, and Associates Khaled Al Makhezeem, Mounir Hany, and Ahmed Al Buaijan.

In addition, GLA is acting in a dual role as counsel to the financiers on this transaction. The finance-side engagement is being led by Ashraf Hendi, Partner and Head of Banking & Finance, and the firm hopes to issue a separate press release on that aspect of the deal shortly.

Nader Al Awadhi, Senior Partner at GLA & Company, stated: “our decades-long relationship with the Kuwait government, its ministries, regulatory bodies and state-owned entities has made GLA & Company the go-to law firm in the State of Kuwait. Project Peregrine is a testament to the trust that both international investors and Kuwait’s sovereign institutions place in our firm. We are immensely proud to have played a central role in structuring and executing the largest foreign direct investment that Kuwait has ever seen — a transaction that will reshape the country’s infrastructure landscape for generations to come.”

Alex Saleh, Managing Partner at GLA & Company, added, “as the top regional Arab Civil Law firm in the Middle East and the largest firm in the State of Kuwait, GLA & Company is involved in every major project in the country, whether on the Sponsor side or the Project Lender’s side. Project Peregrine is a prime example of the breadth and depth of our capabilities — having acted for Brookfield throughout the engagement on the corporate side to acting for the financiers on the project finance side of the equation.”

About GLA & Company

GLA & Company is the premier regional Arab Civil Law firm in the Middle East and the largest independent law firm in the State of Kuwait. With offices across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Egypt, the firm provides strategic, cost-effective and forward-thinking legal representation for companies seeking to do business in the Middle East. The firm boasts a diverse portfolio of clients, ranging from sovereign wealth funds and government entities to global enterprises and regional champions.

GLA’s practice consists of a full-service law firm that handles everything from simple advisory work to complex contentious and non-contentious matters. With extensive experience advising clients on the Gulf region’s most transformative transactions — including the US$20 billion GEO Green Hydrogen Project in Oman, the US$693 million ACWA Power/ENGIE acquisition, the Zain/IHS Kuwait US$230 million tower deal, the US$2 billion Americana IPO restructuring, and the US$400 million DSV/Agility acquisition — GLA & Company consistently demonstrates its unrivalled position as the leading Arab Civil Law legal advisor for landmark transactions in Kuwait and across the MENA region.

GLA & Company has been recognized by Chambers and Partners, Legal 500, and IFLR1000 for its leading practice in Corporate and M&A, Banking and Finance, and Projects and Infrastructure.