Host of international firms pick up mandates on Abraaj fallout
Magic circle, UK, US and offshore firms are all involved in the long-running saga in the Middle East
January 22, 2019 at 05:21 AM
3 minute read
A raft of international law firms including Allen & Overy, DLA Piper and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom have scooped advisory roles following the fall of the Middle East's biggest buyout firm Abraaj.
Allegations of misuse of money in Abraaj's $1bn healthcare fund were made last summer by investors including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, after which the fund reportedly defaulted on $1.1bn of debt.
Prior to its troubles, Abraaj was the biggest buyout fund in the Middle East and Africa, with an asset portfolio worth nearly $14bn. PwC and Deloitte were brought in to oversee liquidation of the fund's operations.
Given that negotiations are continuing, legal advisers involved are reluctant to discuss any details. But about 10 law firms have emerged as having secured mandates on the highly complex case, and several more are also involved, according to people familiar with the situation.
A&O and offshore law firm Carey Olsen are acting as liquidators for Abraaj parent company Abraaj Holdings in the Cayman Islands, alongside PwC.
The magic circle firm is fielding a team led by Middle East head of corporate Andrew Schoorlemmer in Dubai and London-based restructuring partner Joel Ferguson.
Weil is acting as the joint provisional liquidator alongside Deloitte for Abraaj Investment Management Limited, which manages the funds, with London head of restructuring Adam Plainer and private funds partner Nigel Clark leading for the US firm.
Clifford Chance is advising lenders on potential legal action that could be taken against the firm, while DLA Piper funds partner James O'Donnell is advising several active Abraaj funds.
Debevoise & Plimpton is also involved, advising one of the funds. New York partner Natasha Labovitz and London partner John Rife are leading the team.
Deals to have come out of the fund's demise include Abraaj's sale of its Latin American funds management business to US investment management firm Colony Capital, which was advised by a Skadden team led by London corporate partner Sandro de Bernardini and supported by banking partner Clive Wells and investment management partner Stephen Sims.
Scottish corporate boutique firm Dickson Minto also picked up a role for London-headquarted private equity firm Actis on its bid for management rights of Abraaj's Africa funds at the end of last year.
Habib Al Mulla, the chairman of Baker McKenzie's Middle East outpost, is defending Abraaj founder Naqvi on recent legal actions arising from the collapse of the fund.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
As Uncertainty Continues Over PGA Merger, LIV Golf Hires Entertainment Industry Veteran as Legal Chief
Ted Olson, Legal 'Titan' and Former US Solicitor General Who Argued Bush v. Gore, Dies
Trending Stories
- 1$400M Case: Trustee Claims Instant Pot-Maker Defrauded Lenders
- 2NLRB Bans 'Captive Audience' Meetings, Yanking Away Platform Employers Used to Combat Unionizing Efforts
- 3The Power of Your Inner Circle: Turning Friends and Social Contacts Into Business Allies
- 4Bosworth Claims It Was Kline & Specter, Not Him, That Breached Settlement Terms
- 5K&L Gates Faces Malpractice Suit: 'An Experienced Labor Attorney Would Know'
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
