Commercial, corporate and M&A

ASAR - Al Ruwayeh & Partners

Client Satisfaction

ASAR - Al Ruwayeh & Partners's corporate department is renowned by clients for its ‘ability to bridge the gap between the expectations of foreign investors and local laws and practice’, routinely advising local and multinational clients on corporate transactions and governance matters, with notably activity in multi-jurisdictional M&A transactions, especially in the GCC, restructurings, and asset sales. The team is chaired by senior partners Sam Habbas, who is highly active in financial sector-related transactions, and Ibrahim Sattout, who fields over 30 years of experience in M&A mandates. Paul Day and Rob Little are at the forefront of share sale mandates, while co-head Ezekiel Tuma advises clients on some of the highest value acquisitions in the Kuwaiti market, especially the aviation and financial sectors. John Cunha and Luis Cunha are also key members of the team.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘Luis Cunha is really on top of this work and is flexible in his approach. Always delivers on time.’
‘They are very commercially oriented and make sound advice and are practical in their approach depending on overall deal size and value.'
‘Luis Cunha is a corporate superstar of a lawyer. He is always available and makes himself available, follow up on mandates and always sticks to his fee caps.’
‘ASAR tick all of the boxes in terms of responsiveness, expertise and appropriate resourcing. What perhaps sets them apart is their understanding of the Kuwaiti market and their ability to bridge the gap between the expectations of foreign investors and local laws and practice.’
‘Our lead contact at ASAR is Luis Cunha. Luis is a very reassuring presence as he understands well both the needs of his clients and the typical requirements of the market. He is diligent and reliable. In particular, his ability to find solutions to intractable logjams is appreciated.'
‘Ibrahim Sattout's mastery of the legal trade is the main driver for me to work with ASAR.'
‘Technically very strong, advice comes with practical approach and a clear intention to be a business partner, with whom we have been working many years. From M&A, where they support us entering the country and further business in that sense, to commercial transactions of certain level, to compliance topics when the issue arises in the interaction with the local authorities, their guidance has been key to our business in Kuwait ’
‘Luis Cunha has been our point of contact for many years, creating a relationship of trust and closeness which is very much valued, always within the strong technical knowledge and pragmatic approach we look for in external law firms.'

Key clients

Astrolabe Holding Limited
Alghanim Industries
Alshaya Group
Bukhamseen Group
Americana Restaurants
LVMH
Sama Educational Company
Kuwait Cement Co.
Roche
General Electric
Gulf Bank
Johnson & Johnson
British Petroleum
Airbus
Azadea Group
Taken Seat Holding Co.
National Bank of Kuwait
Jadwa Investments Group
Kuwait Danish Dairy
Air Liquide
Al Rashed Holdings
Abbott
Al Dhow Engineering
Al Rifai Group
Alkhorayef Petroleum
Jubail Energy Services
Atos Information Technology
AstraZeneca
JebCo International
Kuwait International Bank
Mustafa Karam Motors
National Industries Group
Reckitt Benckiser
Rimini Street
Saipem
Samsung
SNC Lavalin
Sumitomo Mitsui
Warba
Wapmed

Work highlights

Advised Fairfax on the acquisition of KIPCO’s 46.32% stake in Gulf Insurance Group for approximately USD860m through off-market trades.
Advised Macquarie Airfinance Group on its USD1.1bn acquisition of a portfolio of assets including 23 aircraft by from ALAFCO Aviation Lease and Finance Company KSCP.
Acted for Jadwa Investment Company in the acquisition of Gissah Perfumes Company.

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