DLA Matouk Bassiouny has momentum behind it. The young team is popular with private equity firms and is one of the strongest operators in aircraft financing....
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DLA Matouk Bassiouny has momentum behind it. The young team is popular with private equity firms and is one of the strongest operators in aircraft financing. In January 2011 it also hired partners Mohamed Abdel-Fattah and Mohamed Gabr, with two of their associates, from Zaki Hashem, giving them one of the best capital markets teams in the country. The firm also recruited a finance associate from Ibrachy & Dermarkar.
According to one client: "They were very professional, they know the ins and outs of Egyptian law, they do a super job, can draft in Arabic and English and deliver on time." Another says: "DLA made the acquisition [which another firm had made impossible]; they were very supportive [...] I did seven trips to Egypt and each time we had a meeting with very good participation and each time [John Matouk] provided a solution."
In 2010 before joining DLA, Gabr and Abdel-Fattah handled some of the biggest capital markets deals in the market, highlights being advising EFG Hermes on the $206 million IPO of Juhayna and Beltone Investment Banking on the $200 million IPO of Amer Group.
Head of banking and project finance Mahmoud Bassiouny advised a syndicate including JPMorgan and the National Bank of Egypt on a $1.5 billion bridge facility to the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and a $2 billion facility to Petroleum Export Limited IV, and another syndicate on a $1 billion loan to Petroleum Export Limited IV. He also led a team including Mohamed Abd El Gawad, Heba El Aawar and Farida Ibraheem to advise Suez Steel Company on a $600 million financing and on the largest aircraft finance facility in 2010, advising the US EximBank on Egypt Air's acquisition of five Boeing 737-800s.
In M&A, the firm helped North Africa Holding Company on its acquisition of Egyptian International Medical Center and United Pharmaceuticals, and Orascom Telecom Holding on the $130 million divestment of LinkDotNet. In another mandate notable for the profile of the clients, Matouk advised Intel Corporation on its acquisition of SySDSoft.
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