London-headquartered international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is among the largest law firms in the world and one of the world’s oldest. The firm has over 40 years’ experience in the Middle East with offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Partner Pervez Akhtar leads the team in Dubai whilst Partner Michael Hilton is the team lead for Abu Dhabi office. The firm is generally well regarded in the market with exceptional recognition for its banking and M&A work.

Highlights 

The firm has an active presence in the UAE banking space. Recent examples of the firm’s work include advising Arcapita Group Holdings on a Sharia compliant acquisition financing in relation to the acquisition of DataFlow Verification Services.

M&A is a strength of the firm whilst advising on the most innovative deals in the Middle East and Africa. Recently the firm advised Luxinva on the £4.9 billion acquisition of Dechra Pharmaceuticals which is recognised as the third highest value take private in the UK for 2023.

Testimonials

“In addition to the legal expertise, we are impressed with the commercial awareness, the international aspects of their transactions as well as an informal approach to transactions with strong links in the market.” (Banking client)

“The team is known for cross service line, jurisdictional integration, client management demeanor and collaboration. Commercial considerations to legal issues.” (Insolvency client)

“The firm is very motivated to perform well and very good at finding solutions to problems.” (Projects client)

“Freshfields Middle East has been consistently impressive and has the capability to handle complex restructuring and special situation matters. I wouldn’t hesitate to put them in the top firms in the region on complex cross-border matters.” (Restructuring client)

Key clients

Alpha Dhabi Holding, Arcapita Group Holdings, Fidera, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Hayfin Capital and NBK Capital Partners