Dr. Firas El Samad is a founding Partner and he has been acting since 2009 as the Managing Partner of the Firm while heading the Competition Law and the Telecommunication Departments, in addition to being a leading member within the M&A practice group.

Dr. El Samad is a leading expert in the field of competition law. He helped drafting, discussing and reviewing competition related legislations and he participated as a speaker and panel member in several major competition related events. Dr. El Samad was a co-founder of the Egyptian Association for the Protection of Competition and served on its Board. Dr. El Samad played a key role in representing the Firm’s clients in major competition related cases and investigations and has generally advised them on strategy, compliance and risk mitigation. Dr. El Samad has authored several articles on the various aspects of competition law and has lead compliance workshops aimed at increasing awarness of competition law issues and concerns.

Dr. El Samad has also been involved in mergers and acquisitions and had played a leading role in many major acquisition deals in the various fields of industry (banking, cement, food production, tourism and telecommunication). Examples include the acquisition of Cairo and Far East Bank by Banque Audi and the later sale of Bank Audi Egypt to FAB, the acquisition of Misr Romania by Blom Bank and the later sale of Blom Bank Egypt to ABC bank, the sale by Bank Audi Egypt of its brokerage Company to NI Capital, the acquisition by Citadel Capital of ASEC Cement Company, the acquisition by Suez Cement of ASEC Cement Company, the acquisition by Suez Cement of 50% stake of Ready Mix Beton, the acquisition of General Cables Europe of BICC Egypt, the acquisition by Roca of 50 % of Gravena, the acquisition by Goldman Sachs of a stake in Palm Hills Developments, the acquisition of Bisco Misr by Kellogg’s Company (first competitive mandatory tender offer in Egypt), the acquisition of Mass Food by Kellogg’s Company, acquisition of General Cables Egypt by EIP, the acquisition of a minority stake in Ibn Sina pharma by EBRD, the sale by Suez Cement Company (a member of the Heidelberg Cement Group) of some of its business assets including the sale of its majority stake in Suez Bags Company to the leading paper manufacturers Austrian based Mondi.

Dr. El Samad has also successfully negotiated a first of its kind in Egypt complex acquisition of the shares/business assets of the Menya located white cement plant of Helwan Cement Company: The deal was structured to effect the sale on the shares of the vertically demerged Menya based spin-off of Helwan Cement Company or the business assets based in Menya as alternatively available structure in the case if the contemplated demerger fails to complete or is excessively delayed for procedural/bureaucratic reasons. Dr. El Samad also advised CIRA, a leading listed company focused on investment in the education sector, in nogotiating and concluding several acquisitions and joint ventures in the field like acquiring the majority shares in the British Columbia International School from Wadi Degla and the joint ventures with Ahly Capital and the Egyptian Sovereign Fund.

Dr. El Samad is also specialized in Telecommunication and Infromation Technology. During his past experience, Dr. El Samad has assisted in the drafting and reviewing of software, telecommunications and related services contracts and license agreements, negotiating with the Egyptian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and with other entities/authorities on behalf of a number of his clients and has worked to localize international model agreements for implementation in Egypt.

Dr. El Samad has been a lecturer in the field of arbitration at the Lebanese University of Beirut from 2000 until 2007.

Dr. Firas El Samad obtained a B.A. in Political Science and Public Administration from the American University of Beirut in 1994 and a simultaneously pursued LL.B. from the Lebanese University in 1995. He then obtained a Masters’ Degree (DEA) from the University of Montpellier I in Economic Law in 1997, a Ph.D. (Doctorat en Droit) from the University of Montpellier I, France in Comparative Private Law/Economic Law in 2000, and a Ph.D. from the Lebanese University of Beirut for the same research in the same year.