KPMG Law Azerbaijan
The multinational professional services firm
KPMG has been present in Azerbaijan since 1998. It has operated a full-service office in Baku since 2011. The firm’s Azerbaijan presence now has more than 130 employees of which 20 professionals have long-term experience of legal services in different industry sectors of Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Georgia, Kazakhstan and other countries.
Focusses / specialisms
The firm is visible across several areas within the financial and corporate space including M&A, financial services regulatory, investment funds and project finance.
Key clients
Key clients include Nokia Corporation, Bank of Baku OJSC, Azerbaijan Deposit Insurance Fund and Azerbaijani Railways CJSC
Research period review: 33rd edition (2023/2024)
Within the domain of financial and corporate law, the firm adeptly delivered strategic guidance to acquirers pursuing banking acquisitions, while also providing expert direction to lenders navigating direct financing arrangements. The firm's notable achievements extend to its substantial experience in advising a diverse clientele on crucial aspects such as entity establishment and a wide array of corporate affairs.
Deal highlights: 33rd edition (2023/2024)
OTP Bank €55 million acquisition of Alpha International Holdings
Pasha Bank $120,000 IPO
Client feedback: 33rd edition (2023/2024)
Financial services regulatory
“KPMG, Azerbaijan is always available if any consultancy is needed, in addition they submit the reports to the government on behalf of TISA in a timely and accurate manner.”
Project development
"Practical, straightforward solutions, responsiveness.”
Restructuring
“KPMG provided clear legal advice regarding risks during the restructuring process from a local legislation perspective."
Asim Hashimov
“Timely and comprehensive responses, good industry knowledge.”
Shahlar Mammadov
“Shahlar is knowledgeable and responsive, always delivers his job on time.”
Seymur Niftaliyev
“Practical, focused on the essence.”
“Receptive and always available.”
Altay Mustafayev Law & Tax
Baku-based
Altay Mustafayev Law & Tax is an Azerbaijani full-service law firm focused on transactional work. The firm was established in 2018 and has a strong correspondent relationship with
international law firm Baker McKenzie.
The firm is
recognised
for its work in the financial and corporate area. It covers the full spectrum of financial and corporate work including M&A, banking, bankruptcy, cross-border capital markets and Eurobonds. The firm is an able adviser in the financial services, oil and gas and IT and telecommunications sectors.
Key clients of the firm include AXA, BP, Cisco, Google, Apple, Visa, Mastercard, European Investment Bank, Starbucks, Citibank, Christian Dior Couture, Accenture, Hilton, Marriott, Credit Suisse, Fater, AFFA, and World Vision International.
Client
feedback:
32nd edition (2022/2023)
“Deep local knowledge on tax and legal matters, significant experience advising international clients in complex multi-party workouts, significant experience advising international clients on deal structuring, restructurings, lawsuit resolution. Good contacts, very responsive and always available.”
Financial services regulatory
“The firm is very skilled at handling multi-party, complex matters involving local and/or international counterparties. We have experience working with the firm for
a number of years on various transactions and issues.”
BDO Law
BDO Azerbaijan is a subsidiary of BDO Eurasia BV, a Dutch private limited liability company, and a member of BDO network, uniting 49,000 staff working from 1,118 offices in 135 countries.
The firm was founded in 1963 by firms from Canada, Germany, Netherlands,
the UK and the USA and known as Binder Seidman International Group and has
adopted the name Binder
Dijker Otte & Co since 1973.
The firm
is also a member of the Chamber of Auditors of Azerbaijan.
The firm is recognised for its work in the
financial and corporate,
and project development spaces, especially in the energy field. The firm is active in advising clients on general corporate, M&A,
restructuring and related regulatory matters.
Client
feedback:
32nd edition (2022/2023)
Financial services regulatory
“Consider questions comprehensively.
BM Morrison Partners
Established in 1992,
BM Morrison Partners
became the first private law firm in Azerbaijan following its independence. The firm has full-service offices in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan and a
presence in UAE.
The firm is active across all major practice areas and industry groups. It has a superlative energy project development practice and is highly experienced in banking and finance work. The firm has recently focused on and excelled in the renewables sector.
It is also very active in
the banking and finance area.
Key clients of the firm include
Agence Francaise de Développement, Berlin-Chemie AG
Menarini Group, Commerzbank, Credit Suisse,
Nestlé Azerbaijan, Samsung Electronics, Takeda,
and Zurich Insurance.
Client
feedback:
32nd edition (2022/2023)
“High-quality services, deadline management, careful consideration of the issues, proactivity.”
Caspian Legal Center
Caspian Legal Center is a Baku-based full-service law and tax consultancy firm.
Focusses / specialisms
The firm is active across the financial and corporate space and project development within the oil and gas and financial services regulations.
The firm has a has a broad sectoral coverage and frequently represents Azerbaijani business entities overseas, including in Turkey, Russia and Georgia.
Key clients
Key clients of the firm include Four Seasons Hotel, British American Tobacco, HCL Technologies, Synergy Resourcing International, Scanwell, Enhanced Drilling, Subseaquence, Bolt, Tetra Pak, Huawei Azerbaijan, Fearnley Procter, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Azerbaijan Energy Regulatory Agency (AERA) and MAN Energy Solutions Schweiz AG.
Research period review: 32nd edition (2022/2023)
During the research period the firm was active in financial and corporate and project development deals where it provided advice to financial institutions.
The firm worked in non-contentious financial services regulatory deals for clients connected with oil and gas, financial services, tourism,
technology and communications, consumer goods and services, engineering, energy, shipping, construction, Industrials and manufacturing and investment management sectors in Azerbaijan.
Deal highlights: 32nd edition (2022/2023)
Finca Azerbaijan NBCO LLE €2.4 million loan
Client Feedback: 32nd edition (2022/2023)
Financial services regulatory
"CLC employees are extremely responsible and always on time answering our queries. Whenever needed they visit our office to prepare the tax declarations, meeting with tax representatives and responding to any questions from the local tax authorities. "
"They are very responsible and always on time in responding to queries."
"Efficient communication. Correct advice and down to the point. Proactive approach. Always friendly and supportive."
Project development: Telecommunications networks
"Excellent professional advice, highly tailored to requirements, and given without ambiguity."
Leyla Haciyeva
"Friendly, professional, clear advice."
Firangiz Haydarova
"She is a very responsible and qualified individual."
"She is very responsible and always on time."
Farid Nabili
"Precise and correct legal advice. Clear communication. Proactive approach. Always available."
Dentons
Dentons
is aninternational
law firm with a wide global reach –
featuring 190 offices in 77 countries. In Azerbaijan, the firm fields legal teams in its Baku office.
The firm is a market leader in several financial and corporate areas in Azerbaijan, having acted on some of the most important matters in the country since its independence.
It has a strong banking team which has pioneered Islamic finance and debt restructuring in Azerbaijan. The team is also very strong in project finance work.
The firm is
recognised in the capital markets space, where it has notably worked on the first Eurobond issue in the country.
In M&A and corporate work, the firm often works on the most impactful transactions on the market and has a wide sectoral cover.
The firm’s project development team is well
recognisedfor supporting significant undertakings in construction, infrastructure and energy.
Key clients of the firm include Petronas, HeidelbergCement and European Fund for Southeast Europe.
Client
feedback:
32nd edition (2022/2023)
“Professional services, very efficient.”
“The
Dentons team was very good in terms of negotiations considering
the
multi-jurisdiction of this turnkey project involving colleagues from different countries, managing timely development of the technical appendices together with the network specialists.”
Ekvita
Ekvita is a full-service legal, tax and management consulting company based in Baku, Azerbaijan with more than 50 full-time professionals.
The firm is
recognised
for its work in the financial and corporate and project development area, especially in the energy field. The firm is active in corporate M&A and banking and finance practices.
Sectors of focus include oil and gas, energy and power, transport, social infrastructure and transport.
Key clients of the firm include BP, Expro,
North Westlogistics, Baker Hughes, Azerconnect,
Agrodairy, Konti, ADA University, Herbert Smith Freehills, Anotech Energy,
Unico and SEACOR Marine.
Client
feedback:
32nd edition (2022/2023)
“Regulation knowledge, regulation and legal experience.
On-time completion of their promises, early warnings about legal issues. They support women workers and support young people's improvement.”
“Responsible, quick and knowledgeable.”
GRATA International
Established in 1992 and headquartered in Zurich,
GRATA International is an international law firm focusing on the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The firm’s office in Azerbaijan was established in 2003.
The firm is active and provides a wide range of services across the full spectrum of financial and corporate and project work in Azerbaijan.The firm is also active in the project space. Sectors of focus include telecommunications, mining, oil and gas, infrastructure, transport and manufacturing.
Key clients of the firm include Servier, Pfizer,
CaspianSat, CNIM Azerbaijan, Berry Appleman & Leiden, Fragomen, and Uber.
Kanatis
Kanatisis a full-service consulting company based in Baku, Azerbaijan. The firm
provides
legal, tax, human resources and business management services.
The firm is recognised for its work in the financial and corporate practice.
Key clients of the firm include
RDC Group,
AZE
Service Catering,
BRT
Class, Deziline, 4Bazzar,
YES, Fortis Industrial Solutions, Ataturk Lyceum,
Dermacol Azerbaijan, Food Fabric,
Bonamed and Lecker.
Client
feedback:
32nd edition (2022/2023)
Financial services regulatory
“Efficient, meets the deadlines and is reliable for legal analysis.”
MGB Law Offices
Established in 1995,
MGB Law Offices is an independent full-practice business law firm based in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The firm is
well
known for its work in
the
financial and corporate and project development practices.
The firm is active in providing
legal advice on corporate and business transactions in Azerbaijan, including M&A, joint ventures, real estate investments and cross-border finance. Sectors of focus include aviation, telecommunications, technology, healthcare, retail, transport and logistics.
Key clients of the firm include EBRD, IFC, NOV, Stork, BP, Exxon,
Wolt, Chevron, and Canon.
Omni Law Firm
Omni Law Firm is a leading Azerbaijani law firm founded in 2002.
Focusses / specialisms
The firm has a market leading offering in several financial and commercial areas.
In banking it often acts as a local counsel to prominent local corporates and global banks in relation to various financing matters.
The capital markets team is extremely active and handles the highest volume of work of any law firm in the country.
The firm has a strong corporate practice, often featuring on a share of the country’s complex deals, with restructuring being an area of growth in recent years.
The project development practice is equally strong to its financial and corporate offering, thanks to its capacity to provide comprehensive legal support to some of the largest projects in Azerbaijan.
Key clients
Key clients include SOCAR (State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic), Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, MOL - Hungarian Oil and Gas, Saudi Aramco, JP Morgan, Raiffeisen Bank International, Sberbank, Gazprombank, EBRD, IFC, Black See Trade and Development Bank, Marriott, AZAL (“Azerbaijan Airlines”) and Azercosmos.
Client
feedback:
32nd edition (2022/2023)
“Effective and pragmatic,
to-the-point advice, delivered
promptly
with excellent understanding of underlying business.”
“Very well connected, fair and balanced. Legally very proficient as well.”
Remells Law Firm
Remells Law Firm is an Azerbaijani law firm located in Baku.
Focusses / specialisms
The firm is highly competent in assisting both multinational and domestic clients on aspects of their businesses outside of Azerbaijan, with M&A, corporate restructuring and loan agreements being some of the key pillars of the firm’s financial and corporate expertise.
It has an able projects practice which has a track record of excellence in the Azerbaijani oil and gas sector.
Key clients
Key clients include Port of Baku, Liebherr, BITAZ, SOCAR, Filuet (Herbalife), BDO and Veyseloglu.
Client
feedback:
32nd edition (2022/2023)
“Responsibility, complaisance, professionalism.”
SAMADOV Law and Audit
Samadov
Consulting is a legal, audit, accounting and tax firm based in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The firm’s transactional
focus is in the
corporateand M&A
sector. It provides professional services to clients in the field of audit, law, taxation, accounting and human resources.
Turan Legal and Tax Services
Turan Legal and Tax Services is a law firm based in Baku, Azerbaijan and was founded in 2018.
The firm is
specialised
in
the corporate sector and actively advises
on
cross-border transactions, investments, capital markets and joint-venture deals. Sectors of focus include education, life sciences and
pharmaceuticals, retail, technology and construction.
Key clients of the firm include
Tabaterra, Landau School, MSDIS Holding,
Prosol and Altair.
Client
feedback:
32nd edition (2022/2023)
Financial services regulatory
“Great network of lawyers and knowledge in the field, fast approach, market-fair fees.”
“Their active participation in the negotiation phase was a significant help and they assisted us greatly in constructing the deal. The documentation process was smooth thanks to their experience in the field. Moreover, their knowledge of the corporate business in Azerbaijan and legal structures in creating
an
efficient acquisition process helped us to be on the
right track always and close the deal.”
