On Sunday, the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank had closed a syndicated Islamic loan facility valued at UAE1.32 billion or US$360 million for the largest operator and owner of barges in the Middle East.

The deal would assist in the financing requirements of Gulf Marine Services, which is also based out of Abu Dhabi. Aside from refinancing requirements, it would also provide additional funding for two additional vessels for the company's fleet.

The loan discussions were first reported by Reuters back in May. The transaction was greeted by strong demand from both local and regional financial institutions.

The mandated lead arrangers were Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank together with the First Gulf Bank. The lead arranger is Mashreq Bank while secondary arrangers for the deal were the United Arab Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank, Noor Islamic Bank, GE Mubadala, Ajman Ban and Al Hilal Bank.

79% of GMS is owned by private equity firm Gulf Capital, based out of Abu Dhabi.