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April 15, 2024
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David Foster
David Foster is the Managing Partner for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META) region and a leading corporate and M&A lawyer with over 15 years of experience advising on complex, high-value transactions across the Middle East and beyond. He has been based in the UAE since 2008 and is widely regarded as one of the region’s foremost advisers on market-defining M&A transactions.
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David specialises in public and private M&A, joint ventures, strategic investments, private equity, venture capital and growth capital transactions. He is trusted by corporates, financial sponsors and government entities for his commercial insight, pragmatic approach and ability to execute transactions efficiently, even in highly complex or novel situations.
Clients consistently describe David as commercially astute, diligent and solutions-driven, valuing his breadth and depth of experience and his reputation as a “go-to” adviser for market-leading M&A transactions.
Rankings & Recognition
- Hall of Fame, Legal 500 – UAE
- Market Leader, IFLR1000 – UAE
- Band 1, Corporate/M&A – UAE, Chambers & Partners
Expertise
- Corporate and M&A
- Public takeovers and private acquisitions
- Joint ventures and strategic alliances
- Private equity and venture capital
- Corporate reorganisations and restructurings
Industry Focus
- Energy and infrastructure
- Consumer and retail
- Private equity
- Technology and digital platforms
- Mining and metals
Representative Experience
David has advised on many of the most significant and complex transactions in the region, including:
CYVN Holdings LLC on its strategic partnership with Bahrain Mumtalakat, including the acquisition of McLaren’s automotive business and a minority stake in McLaren Racing.
A multinational utility company on the divestment of power generation and water desalination assets in Bahrain and Kuwait to ACWA Power.
GEMS Education on a major investment by a consortium led by Brookfield Asset Management.
A consortium led by Fajr Capital on the acquisition of a 65% stake in Aster DM Healthcare across the GCC.
A financial investor on a USD 5 billion investment in three flagship UAE assets of DP World.
Infinigate Group AG (a Bridgepoint portfolio company) on its merger with StarLink.
Mubadala on the sale of stakes in Masdar to TAQA and ADNOC.
GEMS Education and the Varkey Group on the sale of a minority stake in GEMS MENASA to CVC Capital Partners, one of the largest private equity transactions in the Middle East.
Investcorp on leading a USD 100 million pre-IPO investment in TruKKer, the largest digital freight network in MENA.
Prosus as lead investor on a USD 170 million Series C fundraising by Foodics.
Checkout.com on investments in BNPL provider Tamara, one of the largest fintech fundraisings in the region.
OLX Group on the merger of its UAE, Egypt, Pakistan and Lebanon businesses with Emerging Markets Property Group, creating a USD 1 billion group.
Souq Group on the sale of its entire issued share capital to a multinational technology company, one of the largest technology M&A transactions in the Arab world.
Aldar Properties on its USD 4.5 billion merger with Sorouh Real Estate, the first public company merger under the UAE Companies Law universal succession regime.
dnata (Emirates Group) on the sale of its Mercator business division to Warburg Pincus.
Managing Partner – META (Middle East, Turkey & Africa)
Partner, Corporate / M&A
đź“Ť Dubai