DEBT WATCH-
Armah Sports locked in a SAR 180 mn shariah-compliant credit facility from Bank AlJazira, it said in a filing to Tadawul. The seven-year Murabaha loan comes with a two-year grace period, and will fund the Nomu-listed company’s expansion with new fitness clubs across the Kingdom. Bank AlJazira also agreed to lower financing rates on Armah’s existing loan by roughly 22%, thanks to the company’s stable financing footing, according to the disclosure. Armah expects these savings to cut financing costs by around 5% starting next year.
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M&A WATCH-
Saudi National Bank (SNB) pulled the plug on the planned sale of its majority stake in Samba Pakistan, after months of due diligence and exploring potential buyers, according to a filing to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (pdf). Earlier this year, Bank Alfalah, one of Pakistan’s top banks, expressed interest in acquiring an 84.5% stake in Samba, with regulatory green lights for due diligence, but the transaction was scrapped.
LOGISTICS-
Mawani adds new shipping service to Jeddah Islamic Port: The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) added Emirates Shipping Line’s EIX service to Jeddah Islamic Port, it said in a statement. The new service, which has a 1.8k standard container capacity, will link the Jeddah port with the ports of Mundra in India, Alexandria in Egypt, and Mersin and Iskenderun in Turkey.
AVIATION-
Flyadeal adds flights to two Egyptian cities: Local budget airline flyadeal launched two new routes, one connecting Madinah to Egypt’s capital Cairo, and another connecting Jeddah to Sohag in Upper Egypt, the budget airline said on LinkedIn (here and here). This raises the airline’s weekly flights between the Kingdom and Egypt to 44, up from 39. The statement didn’t clarify the flights’ frequency on each of the new routes.