Baker & McKenzie is consistently rated as a leading office in Egypt. "It is pretty much dominating the market in most categories," says one peer: "they have everything: big local names and the international network"....
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Baker & McKenzie is consistently rated as a leading office in Egypt. "It is pretty much dominating the market in most categories," says one peer: "they have everything: big local names and the international network".
Last year lead partner Taher Helmy left the firm to relocate to London. Some attribute this to the appearance of his name in the Egyptian press in the context of having provided legal advice to former President Mubarak and his family. It is no doubt a loss on the ground as he was the key "marketer and rainmaker", says a competitor, but consensus is that it will not knock the firm too hard. Mohamed Ghannam becomes the most senior partner pending further developments and with Mohamad Talaat and Hazim Rizkana leads on most of the high profile deals.
In June 2010 Talaat advised Juhayna Food Industries on the first IPO in Egypt since 2008. Five months later Talaat acted for the Amer Group Holding Company on a $200 million IPO and private placement.
In banking, Ghannam acted on a string of large mandates for the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Proparco and the Export Credits Guarantee Department. In January 2011 with the London office Ghannam advised on the largest ever financing covered by Egyptian parties, as 25 banks led by Banque Misr, National Bank of Egypt and National Bank of Abu Dhabi lent $1 billion to telecom company Etisalat Misr.
Talaat and Ghannam led on the majority of the firm's M&A transactions, the last of which being advising TA Associates, Madison Dearborn Partners and Apax Partners on the $1.8 billion sale of their equity interest in Weather Investments to Weather Investments II. The firm was busy in real estate, advising Semiramis Hotels on its $87 million acquisition of Arab Investment for Urbanisation (owners of the Sheraton Al Montazah Hotel) and Burooj Properties on a $57 million acquisition.
Meanwhile in project finance Ghannam and Rizkana advised a bank on a multi-jurisdictional $165 million loan to an oil company, the Egyptian Hydrocarbon Corporation on a $454 million loan to develop the Greenfields Olefins Complex and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) with other Egyptian lenders on a $158 million loan to Egyptian Indian Polyester Company.
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