Omar Bassiouny

Leaders in Law endorses Omar Bassiouny as our exclusively recommended M&A Law expert in Egypt. If you wish to get in touch with Omar please use the contact information provided above.

Founding Partner & Head of Corporate M&A

Omar S. Bassiouny is Partner of Matouk Bassiouny in both offices: Dubai and Cairo. He is consistently ranked in top tiers and bands by legal periodicals in the areas of corporate law and mergers and acquisitions for his considerable expertise in setting-up joint ventures and new projects in Egypt and Dubai, as well as ensuring compliance with local laws and corporate governance.

Omar is also recognized for his negotiations skills and business sense, which enabled Matouk Bassiouny’s reputation to float globally and maintained a substantial degree of efficiency and ethics.

Practice Focus

Omar focuses on all corporate matters including M&A, public takeovers, restructuring and cross-borders transactions. In addition to corporate, Omar has significant experience on all aspects of investing and doing business in Egypt.

Recent Rankings

• Ranked as a Leading Individual – Legal 500 EMEA, 2018
• Ranked as a Leading Individual – Chambers Global, 2018
• Ranked in Band 1 – Chambers Global, 2018
• Ranked as Leading Lawyer: Highly Regarded – IFLR 1000 for 2018
• Financial and Corporate Leading Lawyer for 2017 – IFLR 1000
• Ranked as a Notable Practitioner – Chambers Global, 2017
• Ranked as a Leading Individual – Legal 500 EMEA, 2016.

Select Recent Experience

• Representation of Development Partners International “DPI”, a leading pan African private equity firm on it’s acquisition of ADP fund from GB Capital Holding for Financial Investments which constituted 25% from Mashroey and 25% from Tasaheel, forming Mashroey and Tasaheel company “MNT”. Instructions included an extensive due diligence and a full legal due diligence report as each company had more than 100 branches and the report had to be in line with the most updated regulatory framework in the Arab Republic of Egypt. Transaction Value: (Closed in August 2018).
• Representation of Tag El Melouk ( a market leader in the production of baking powder, Vanilla and salt, among other products) as local counsel in connection with selling 100% of its shares to Dr. Oetker. Instructions included conducting a vendor legal due diligence, deal structuring, preparation of transaction documents and managing the deal closing process. Transaction Value: USD 86 million (Closed in July 2018).
• Representation of EFG Hermes in its acquisition of a New Cairo-based elementary schools’ portfolio from Talaat Moustafa Group Holding (TMG Holding), Egypt’s largest listed real estate developer. Instructions included conducting a legal due diligence, deal structuring, preparation of transaction document and managing the deal closure process. Transaction value: EGP 1 billion (closed in May 2018).
• Representation of Arabian Holding Company on the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of the Arab Company for Services and Trading S.A.E, the affiliate of Qalaa Holdings managing the supermarket chain operating under the “Dina Farms” brand. The instructions included legal due diligence, preparing the transaction documents and negotiating the transaction terms with the sellers. Transaction value: Confidential (closed in May 2018).
• Representation of Mubadala Petroleum as local counsel in connection with the acquisition of 10 percent stake in the Shorouk concession in Egypt’s Zohr gas field. The instructions included providing legal advices conducting legal due diligence on the Egyptian entities and review the transaction documentation. Transaction value: USD 934 million (closed in March 2018).
• Representation of Hassan Allam Holding in their acquisition of 60% of the shares of Power Generation Engineering and Services Company S.A.E. being the largest consultancy firm in the region the field of power generation. The instructions included providing legal advices conducting legal due diligence and review the transaction documentation. The transaction value: EGP 420 million (closed in March 2018).
• Representation of Cairo 3A in connection with the public takeover of the National Company for Maize Products (NCMP). Transaction value EGP 1.47 Billion (closed December 2017).
• Advising SPE Capital on the exit of its investment in Orchidia Pharmaceutical Industries – a leading Egyptian ophthalmic generic medicine manufacturer and one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical companies in Egypt – through the sale of its entire stake to the American Enterprise Fund. Matter value: Confidential (closed in December 2017).
• Representation of Maersk Drilling in divestment of its stake in the Egyptian Drilling Company – with market share of 68% – to the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) in an all-cash transaction valued at USD 100 Million. (Closed December 2017).
• Representation of Amazon.com in connection with the acquisition of Souq.com. The instructions included providing legal advices with respect to the nature of the Egyptian subsidiaries of Souq, conducting legal due diligence on the Egyptian entities and review the transaction documentation. Transaction value: Confidential. (Closed March 2017).
• Representation of Neptune Energy Group as local counsel (transaction internationally led by Freshfields Bruckhaus Derigner) in the acquisition of Engie E&P. Significant business acquired by Neptune includes operations in the North Sea of Norway. Matter value: USD 3.9 billion (closed in October 2017).
• Representation of Canada-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. in connection with the acquisition of Amoun Pharmaceutical S.A.E. The instructions included transaction structuring, legal due diligence and drafting the transaction documentation. Transaction value: USD 800 Million plus deferred payment.
• Representation of Abraaj Group in connection with the acquisition of a majority stake in Tiba Educational Group. The instructions included transaction structuring, legal due diligence and drafting the transaction documentation. Transaction value: USD 100 Million plus deferred payment.
• Representation of AXA Insurance in connection with the acquisition of Commercial International Life S.A.E. The instructions included transaction structuring, legal due diligence and drafting the transaction documentation. Transaction value: EGP 763 Million.

Publications

• Egypt, “The Legal 500: Mergers & Acquisitions Country Comparative Guide” with Mariam Auda, 2nd edition, 2018, Legal 500.
• Egypt, “The International Comparative Legal Guide to Mergers & Acquisitions 2016”, 10th Edition, Global Legal Group, 2016, pp. 161-165.
• Egypt, “Mergers & Acquisitions Report”, International Financial Law Review, 2016, pp.55-58.
• Egypt, “Equity Capital Markets Global Guide”, Thomson Reuters, 2016.
• Egypt, “Mergers & Acquisitions Report”, International Financial Law Review, 2015, pp.55-58.
• Egypt, “Equity Capital Markets Global Guide”, Thomson Reuters, 2015.
• Egypt Chapter, Mergers & Acquisitions, 7th Edition, the Law reviews, 2013.
• “Venture Capital Investment in Egypt – Legal and Regulatory Issues”, International Mergers & Acquisitions Review 2004/2005, Euromoney Publications 2004.
• “An Insight on Doing Business in Egypt”, BCA, November 2004 Issue.
• “Equity Transactions in Egypt – Legal Regulatory Issues Faced by Inward Investors”, International Mergers & Acquisitions Review 2003/2004, Euromoney Publications, 2003.

Education

• Cairo University: License en Droit – 1999
• American University Cairo: Bachelors of Art in Public and International Law – 1998

Languages

• Arabic
• English
• French

Professional Associations And Memberships

• Egyptian Bar Association – Member
• American Chamber of Commerce – Member
• Egyptian Malaysian Business Council – Member
• Egyptian Private Equity Association – Member
• British Egyptian Business Association – Member
• Egyptian Junior Business Association – Member

Firm Description:

Matouk Bassiouny is a leading, full-service MENA region law firm with offices in Cairo, Egypt (Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy), Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Matouk Bassiouny), Khartoum, Sudan (Matouk Bassiouny in association with AIH Law Firm), and Algiers, Algeria (Matouk Bassiouny in association with SH-Avocats), as well as a country desk covering our Libya Practice.

The Firm prides itself on its in-depth understanding of cross-border cultural and business practices and on providing a commercial problem-solving approach to its legal services in supporting its clients in the region. Matouk Bassiouny is fully committed to understanding our clients’ businesses and needs.

Our attorneys specialize in advising multinationals, corporations, financial institutions and governmental entities on all legal aspects of investing and doing business in Egypt and the region.

Trained both locally and internationally in both civil and common law systems, our attorneys are fully conversant in English, Arabic and French. We are ideally placed to advise on high-profile, high-value complex matters and routinely handle cross-border and international transactions, projects and disputes in the MENA region.

Egypt