Denton Wilde Sapte, Skadden and Latham & Watkins have been retained on the Qatari government's second bond offering this year. Qatar’s US$7bn bond issue has broken regional records as the largest bond offering by a Middle East issuer.

Latham & Watkins has a longstanding relationship with the state of Qatar, having already advised on its US$3bn bond offering in April working alongside Skadden, which advised the underwriters. It was initially retained by the Qatari government in 2000 on the state’s inaugural bond issue. Doha-based counsel Craig Stoehr led the Qatar team on the latest transaction, along with partner Phillip von Randow. The London team was headed by partner Bill Voge. Skadden partners Hal Moore, Robert Chilstrom and Danny Tricot from the firm's New York and London offices worked together on the deal.

This transaction is among a number of recent deals that demonstrate the improved debt capital markets in the Gulf state, following on from the US$1.6bn offering in November by the Commercial Bank of Qatar, on which the bank’s longstanding counsel Simmons & Simmons advised.

Latham’s Craig Stoehr (pictured, left) said this US$7bn deal shows that Qatar – dubbed the ‘darling’ of the Middle Eastern countries – is in good financial health. “[The deal] is testament to the success of the carefully planned expansion and diversification of Qatar’s economy,” said Stoehr. “The Ministry of Economy and Finance and its State Finance Policy Committee … [established] Qatar as a strong sovereign credit and sophisticated debt capital markets issuer in only a little more than six months.”

Latham & Watkins has been building up its Middle East team this year, after launching three regional offices (in Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai) in 2008. Randow was transferred from the Frankfurt office just before taking on Qatar’s bond issue in April, and Paris-based associate Olivier Vermeulen was transferred to Doha in June.

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