Middle East M&A Stars Receive Inaugural Mergermarket Awards

• Big names in Middle East M&A are recognised at Mergermarket’s first Middle Eastern M&A Awards
• Awards presented for outstanding work by legal and financial advisories supporting deals in Consumer, Energy, Financial Services, Industrials, Pharma and Real Estate sectors
• Clifford Chance scoops two prizes for Financial Services and Pharma deals
• Barclays named top bank in Energy and Industrials M&A

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 17th May 2016:  Mergermarket, the world’s leading news and intelligence service for mergers & acquisitions, hosted its inaugural Middle Eastern M&A Awards last night, recognising the top banks and law firms supporting M&A in a range of sectors including Consumer, Energy, Financial Services, Industrials, Pharma and Real Estate. The Awards were presented at a ceremony held at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Dubai. 

Of the nominations for best Legal Advisor, Baker & McKenzie won the Consumer sector, Ashurst took the top award in the Energy sector, Clifford Chance was named best legal advisor in both the Financial Services and Pharma sectors, while Herbert Smith Freehills won the Industrials category and White & Case took the honours for Real Estate. 

The winning Financial Advisory nominees were Pharos Holding, for its work on deals in the Consumer sector, Barclays for advising on transactions in both the Energy and Industrials sectors, Perella Weinberg Partners for advising on Financial Services deals, Rothschild in the Pharma sector and Deutsche Bank for Real Estate. 

Speaking on the night, Matthew Robinson, Events Director EMEA at Mergermarket, commented:

“We’re delighted to recognise the excellent M&A advisory work that’s taken place in the Middle East during the past year. The purpose of these Awards is to celebrate a year in deals, as well as to bring together advisors and clients from across the region. Our panel of judges had a tough time selecting the winners from a group of very competitive nominations, and I’d like to extend our thanks to the legal and financial advisors who put themselves forward for consideration.”

The Awards evening followed Mergermarket’s 2016 Middle Eastern M&A and Private Equity Forum, which was attended by leading MENA transaction professionals, who examined deal trends in the region and shared ideas on the outlook for M&A in the Middle East. The Forum was hosted in strategic partnership with Baker & McKenzie, EY, Standard Bank and Instinctif Partners.