With local associations in such high demand from international firms it is getting rarer to find a truly independent domestic law office in the jurisdiction. In light of this it is impressive that Hatem Abbas Ghazzawi & Co (formerly aligned with Hammad Al-Mehdar & Co) retains its prominence in the market....
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With local associations in such high demand from international firms it is getting rarer to find a truly independent domestic law office in the jurisdiction. In light of this it is impressive that Hatem Abbas Ghazzawi & Co (formerly aligned with Hammad Al-Mehdar & Co) retains its prominence in the market.
The firm's banking practice, led by partner Asad Abedi, advised a Saudi bank last year in connection with a working capital facility for a private electricity company. The alliance also advised another bank client on a loan facility for a Saudi group in regard to the restructuring of the borrower's telecoms subsidiary.
Asad Abedi is the main contact in the firm's capital markets team and last year he was called on by an international insurance company over its $40 million IPO. Abedi also advised an investment company in regard to the establishment of a $400 million real-estate fund.
Both Asad and his brother Ali Abedi were involved when the firm advised a private-equity fund on the acquisition of a public utilities management company. Other highlights include counselling a government authority on the acquisition of large shareholdings in two international banks and acting for an engineering group over the purchase of a majority shareholding in a Saudi engineering group.
In the project finance area, the team worked alongside Ashurst on a mandate for the lenders to the preferred bidder for the $5.5 billion Ras Az Zawr independent water and power project. Another highlight was the firm's advice to Tarabot/Tracc over a bid for the 30-year, $7 billion concession to operate the Saudi Landbridge rail link between Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam.
In the energy sector, Ali Abedi led a team advising Chevron Phillips Chemical Company and its Saudi partner on the $1.1 billion financing of a petrochemical facility in Jubail. The deal included investment by the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) and Partnership Investment Finance (PIF).
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