Profile details
Profil Pervez Akhtar
Pervez is our regional managing partner for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). His practice focuses on private equity, M&A and joint ventures in the financial services, insurance, energy, utilities, transport, logistics, consumer goods, retail, education, healthcare, telecoms and media sectors.
His clients are typically regional and international financial investors and corporates doing business throughout MENA, the rest of Africa, and south and southeast Asia. Pervez also advises sovereign wealth funds and government investment vehicles on transactions integral to their strategic investment and economic diversification programmes.
Well known for the time and attention he devotes to transactions and his sensible approach to negotiating, he is recognised by the market as one of the region’s leading corporate transactional lawyers and is personally ranked in the leading legal research directories for his work in relation to countries throughout MENA and beyond.
Mandate
- Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic on their joint acquisition of a 49% stake in UAE-based Network International, the leading payment solutions provider in the Middle East and Africa.
- The Abraaj Group on its acquisition of a significant minority stake in Indorama Fertilizers B.V (Indorama Fertilizers) the largest urea fertiliser manufacturer in sub-Saharan Africa.
- First Gulf Bank PJSC on its merger with National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC set to create the largest bank in MENA region with US$175 billion of assets.
- Fajr Capital on its acquisition of the Cravia Group the franchisee of various major food and beverage brands in the MENA region, including Five Guys, Cinnabon, Seattle’s Best Coffee and Zaatar w Zeit.
- Integrated Diagnostics Holdings plc (the region’s largest fully integrated private sector healthcare diagnostics service provider - offering services including pathology and molecular diagnostics, genetics testing and basic radiology in Egypt, North Sudan and Jordan) and the selling shareholders on its IPO and listing on the London Stock Exchange
- TPG Capital and The Abraaj Group on their investment into Kudu, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest restaurant groups with multiple sites and brands across the country. The transaction represented TPG’s debut investment in the Middle East as well as representing one of, if not the, largest private equity investments in Saudi Arabia.
- The Nuqul Group on the sale of a stake in FINE Hygienic Holding (FINE) to a consortium (led by Standard Chartered Private Equity). FINE is one of the most recognised consumer brands in the Middle East operating across the MENA region with operations located in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Morocco and Algeria.
- GC Credit Opportunities Fund on its investment in Carbon Holdings (Egypt’s specialised and largest downstream oil & gas holding company) to finance the development and expansion of three of Carbon Holdings’ petrochemical projects.
- Fajr Capital with Blackstone, and Bahrain’s investment arm Mumtalakat as co-investors, on the acquisition, from Varkey Group Limited, of a minority stake in the emerging markets business of leading regional education business GEMS Education. M&A Deal of the Year IFLR Middle East Awards 2015.
- EFG Hermes on its initial joint cash bid (with Qatari investment company Mannai Corporation QSC) to acquire the entire share capital of UAE-based luxury retailer Damas International Limited, listed on NASDAQ Dubai and on EFG’s subsequent sale of its stake in Damas back to Mannai Corporation QSC.