Respected as one of the leading local firms in the country, Hassan Radhi & Associates is favoured by major international firms who regularly mandate the firm to advise on local law in transactions. "They've long been the choice of Norton Rose, Trowers and Dentons who appoint them as local council," says one international partner....
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Respected as one of the leading local firms in the country, Hassan Radhi & Associates is favoured by major international firms who regularly mandate the firm to advise on local law in transactions. "They've long been the choice of Norton Rose, Trowers and Dentons who appoint them as local council," says one international partner. The firm have been elevated to the second tier in banking and capital markets after strong market recommendations. Name partner and practise head Hassan Ali Radhi is praised by clients and competitors alike and has been active on the majority of the firm's notable work over the past 12 months. One client says: "He's commercial, he understands the issues and he's a very fine lawyer."
In a deal highlight, Radhi advised the managers in respect to a $3 million disinvestment of a 10% share held by Mumtalakat, the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, in Aluminium Bahrain (ALBA). The shares were offered as GDRs in the Mena (Middle East & North Africa) region and abroad.
The firm worked in conjunction with Allen & Overy's London office in December 2010, advising on the local law in connection with a guarantee, provided by a Bahraini entity on a $1.7 million note issuance.
In July last year Radhi advised Baker & McKenzie on preparing security documents and for a $35 million banking facility for a Bahraini entity.
The firm has also been active for lenders providing loans for struggling banks and businesses with in the region, notably acting for an international bank backing a Bahrain one under administration, with a $13 million loan in December 2010. Partner Jalil Al Aradi was similarly involved in a $75 million facility for a Bahraini company, acting for the lender, a Hong Kong branch of an international bank. The transaction involved amending the incorporation documents of the Bahraini corporation as the international bank became a shareholder through a subsidiary of the company in the Cayman Islands.
On the M&A side, the firm advised MetLife on the regulatory requirements relating to the transfer of the Bahraini Branch of American Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of AIG, to the firm's client. The deal which closed in October 2010 was part of the global merger of the two companies.
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