M & A

M & A

The Corporate and M&A practice is handled by two main departments within our law firm: the Mergers and Acquisitions Department headed by Dr. Ingy Badawy and the Capital Markets and Procedural Department headed by Mr. Anwar Zeidan. Dr. Firas El Samad, is also an active partner in the M&A Department.

Mona Zulficar provides support and guidance to both departments and helps with strategic issues related to structuring and new products.

The Corporate and M&A Team comprises four partners, four senior associates and sixteen associates (the “M&A Team”). The M&A Team is further supported on a need basis by members in other departments notably banking and finance, litigation and arbitration or by specialized team members when their expertise is required specifically in the areas of anti-trust, taxation, real estate and employment.

The M&A Team prides itself as having star quality partners and associates possessing recognized track records in establishing precedents and introducing innovative products, structures and solutions to the Egyptian market through their creative and proactive problem solving approach. The above has been all the more relevant in the context of the challenging legal and political environment since January 2011. We have witnessed since the early 2014 an increased interest in Egypt and the Egyptian market. There has been a rapid increase in workflow specifically potential acquisitions, IPOs and Capital Increases.

The M&A Team has successfully closed two unprecedented transactions in 2014/2015.  The first relates to Kellogg’s acquisition of Bisco Misr, SAE.  This involved the first acquisition by Kellogg’s in Egypt through a fierce competitive mandatory tender offers, the first of its kind. The Transaction was successfully closed after four rounds of bidding against a competitor company on 18 January 2015 with the Kellogg’s Company purchasing all the tendered shares during the Competitive MTO with a total of 9,882,320 shares representing 85.9% of the Target Company’s share capital with a total value of approximately 900 Million Egyptian Pounds.

The second relates to the first dual listing of Orascom Contruction Ltd on NASDAQ Dubai and the EGX, which was made possible thanks to the new regulations approved by EFSA and the EGX, upon the initiative of Z & P and its discussions and written memoranda for a period of six months in advance of the transaction.  The transaction was a first precedent not only because it related to the first dual listing of foreign shares in different currencies but also as the shares offered by the foreign company constituted an increase in capital and not secondary shares, adding a dimension of complexity and novelty.