International Financial Law Review (IFLR) honored global law firm White & Case LLP three times in its 2021 IFLR Middle East Awards announced on October 27. White & Case was named "Project Finance Team of the Year" for the second year in a row.
Two outstanding transactions on which White & Case advised were named "Deals of the Year" by IFLR:
M&A Deal of the Year: United Arab Chemical Carriers and United Overseas Group Merger
White & Case advised United Arab Chemical Carriers Limited (UACC), the Dubai-headquartered international shipping company, on entering into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by United Overseas Group Ltd (UOG), a company controlled by Peter Georgiopoulos and Leonidas Vrondissis. The complex, precedent-setting transaction was structured as a reverse triangular merger, which was the first such merger under the Companies Law of the Dubai International Financial Centre (the DIFC). The transaction involved a team of more than 25 White & Case lawyers across seven offices, co-led by partners Michiel Visser (New York), Ali Shaikley (Dubai), Simon Collins (Hong Kong) and local partner Sonia Abdul-Rahman (Dubai).
Domestic Deal of the Year: National Commercial Bank and Samba Merger
White & Case advised Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia, acting as financial advisor to Samba Financial Group, in its US$46 billion (SAR 171 billion) merger with the National Commercial Bank, to create the largest bank in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The White & Case team that advised on the transaction was co-led by partners Sami Al-Louzi (Dubai) and Ali Shaikley (Dubai).
"White & Case has proved itself a formidable force in the projects space," IFLR reported in its editorial profile. "Its involvement in both the Rabigh Solar IPP and Al Dhafra PV2 project underline the firm’s commitment to energy transition."