Rothschild & Co. and Moelis & Co. were shortlisted to advise on restructuring about USD15bn of debt at Saudi Arabia’s biggest construction firm. The boutique banks made pitches to Saudi Binladin Group last month for what would be one of the Middle East’s biggest debt revamps, sources said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Ken Moelis, the founder and CEO of the eponymous investment bank, travelled to the kingdom to lead the process, one of the people said. Binladin – for decades Saudi Arabia’s go-to developer for mega-projects such as airports and holy sites in Mecca and Medina – is restructuring debt after the Kingdom delayed payments to contractors following the drop in oil prices. The government took about a 37% stake in the firm from the Binladin family to “settle outstanding dues” after Bakr Binladin, the half-brother of Al-Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden, was swept up in a so-called corruption crackdown in Nov 2017. Binladin last month hired a new managing director, Abdullah Mohammed Nour Al Rehaimi, to help its business recover from the downturn.