Riyadh 31st October 2010: HSBC Saudi Arabia has acted as sole financial advisor to Al Babtain Power & Telecommunications Company ("ABP&T") in a landmark transaction that included the first ever cash-and-shares deal involving the issuance of shares in a listed Saudi company to a foreign shareholder.

ABP&T will acquire of 49% in Al Babtain LeBLANC Telecommunication Systems Company ("ABL") from LeBlanc Group, a Singapore based telecommunications group, in a transaction that values ABL at SAR183.1 million based on ABP&T's closing price on 20 October 2010.  The transaction is a combination of shares and cash and will result in ABP&T becoming the 100% owner in ABL. The transaction is pending approval of ABP&T's shareholders and Saudi regulators. 

"This is a landmark transaction involving the first instance of a publicly listed Saudi corporate issuing equity as consideration to a foreign vendor," said Walid Khoury, CEO HSBC Saudi Arabia. "The transaction is testament to HSBC's strong M&A origination and execution capabilities in Saudi Arabia, in particular in relation to Saudi listed companies, where share transactions are rare," he added.

HSBC is the largest and most widely-represented bank in both the Middle East and Asia, and is heavily involved in the increasing volumes of cross-border transactions between the two regions. The bank's focus on emerging markets has seen the volume and value of debt, equity, merger and acquisition transactions between the MENA region and Asia-Pacific soar in recent years.

In Saudi Arabia, the deal further enhances HSBC's strong relationship with ABP&T, following HSBC's role as financial advisor to the Company on its IPO in December 2006.

-Ends-

HSBC Bank Middle East Limited (HSBC)
HSBC is the largest and most widely represented international bank in the Middle East. HSBC Bank Middle East Limited has 53 branches throughout the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Algeria and the Palestinian Autonomous Area. In addition to the branch network the Bank maintains representative offices in Tehran, Iran and Tripoli, Libya. This extensive regional coverage is strengthened by another member of the HSBC Group, HSBC Bank Egypt SAE; and by its associated companies; HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited; SABB Securities Limited; SABB Takaful Co.; and Dar Es Saalam Investment Bank. 

Al Babtain Power & Telecommunications Company
ABP&T is a Saudi based listed engineering and tower manufacturing company with production bases in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The company manufactures towers used for outdoor lighting, power transmission and distribution, telecommunications (towers and monopoles), and other steel structures.

Al Babtain LeBLANC Telecommunication Systems Company
ABL is a Saudi telecommunication services company with subsidiaries in Egypt, UAE, and Qatar.  It was established as a joint venture in 1993 between ABP&T and LeBlanc.  It provides design, engineering, installation and maintenance of telecommunication towers, services and turnkey implementation of associated base station sites to serve the growing telecom markets in the Middle East and North Africa. 

LeBlanc Group is a telecommunications infrastructure provider and managed services company with operations in 9 countries, including manufacturing facilities in Egypt and Malaysia, offering products and services to over 40 countries.

Charles Clarke
Senior Manager, Corporate Communications
Global Banking and Markets and HSBC Amanah
HSBC Bank Middle East Limited
Tel: 971 4423 5640
Email: charleswclarke@hsbc.com      

© Press Release 2010