King & Spalding Advises UIB in Purchase of BWA Water Additives

LONDON--(Marketwire - October 2, 2008) - King & Spalding, a leading international law firm, announced today that it represented United International Bank B.S.C.(c), a Shari'ah-compliant investment bank headquartered in Bahrain, in connection with the Shari'ah-compliant financing and structuring of UIB's acquisition of UK-based BWA Water Additives. The transaction was completed on September 29.

UIB raised funding for the acquisition under a senior murabaha facilities agreement entered into with The Royal Bank of Scotland plc and HSBC Bank plc and a mezzanine murabaha facilities agreement entered into with The Royal Bank of Scotland Equity Fund.

King & Spalding represented UIB on the holding structure put in place for its equity investment, the entry into the murabaha facilities agreements and all aspects of Shari'ah compliance, including all discussions with UIB's Shari'ah board.

The King & Spalding legal team on the transaction was led by partner Jawad I. Ali (London and Dubai) and counsel Mike Rainey (London), with assistance from partner Andrew Metcalf (New York) and associates Bolu Majekodunmi (London), Sara Carmody (Dubai), James Stull (Dubai) and Kai-Ting Yang (New York).

"UIB's acquisition of BWA through a senior and mezzanine financing structured in accordance with the principles of Islamic Shari'ah was a remarkable achievement in the current economic climate," Ali said.

Rainey added: "Putting in place the senior and mezzanine murabaha facilities agreements and the acquisition structure, including the issue of preferred shares to management, required many hours of difficult discussions with UIB's Shari'ah board. Our Dubai office played a critical role in these discussions."

About King & Spalding

King & Spalding is an international law firm with more than 880 lawyers in Abu Dhabi, Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dubai, Frankfurt, Houston, London, New York, Riyadh (affiliated office), San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. The firm represents half of the Fortune 100 and in Corporate Counsel surveys consistently has been among the top firms representing Fortune 250 companies. For additional information, visit www.kslaw.com.

Contact Information: Contact: Matt Hyams King & Spalding Ph. 212-827-4057