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Monday, November 30 - 2009

Clyde & Co advises ADIC MENA Partners on majority stake LBO of Unitra METS Group

  • United Arab Emirates: Monday, November 10 - 2008 at 11:16
  • PRESS RELEASE

Clyde & Co LLP has advised ADIC MENA Partners, a private equity fund managed by Abu Dhabi Investment Company (ADIC), on the acquisition of a majority stake in the Al Zarouni family's Unitra METS Group, a Dubai-based speciality beverage distributor with 2008 revenues expected to be in excess of Dhs600m.

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Through the acquisition, ADIC acquired 80% of the shares of UNITRA International LLC and Middle East Trading Store LLC - Dubai based companies engaged in the food and beverages trading business and owned by the Al Zarooni family. The share acquisition was structured as a leveraged buy out with financing provided by Mashreq Bank.

ADIC MENA Partners is a $500m (Dhs1.836bn) buy-out fund with a commitment from ADIC of $100m. Clyde & Co is the largest international law firm in the GCC with over 140 legal staff operating out of offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha.

The acquisition and all related aspects of the transactions were advised on by a team drawn from Clyde & Co's Abu Dhabi and Dubai offices. Led by Dubai corporate partner Abhi Jalan with support from Abu Dhabi corporate partner Niall O'Toole, the team included associates Claudine Favali , Mansi Kochhar and Christopher Olive on the corporate side, and Glenn O'Brien with respect to financing.

Commenting on the acquisition, Jalan said:
"This transaction is another example of the trend towards private equity involvement in the region's family owned business sector."


"Private equity such as seen here is structured to assist family owed businesses with regional expansion plans," he added, "Our involvement was focused on achieving the commercial objectives of the transaction parties in the most efficient way possible. This included the developing, structuring and implementing of what was a fairly complex transaction."

"The acquisition of the Unitra METS Group clearly highlights ADIC Private Equity's strategy of buying majority stakes from family and other business owners, using a sensible amount of non-recourse, cash flow based financial leverage," ADIC said in a statement.

"We are confident this transaction will demonstrate how successfully a private equity firm can partner with a family-owned business to build market-leading regional businesses," added Robert Wages, Executive Director of ADIC Private Equity.
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Notes and media contacts

About Clyde & Co - Middle East:

Clyde & Co is one of the original international law firms in the GCC and now has over 140 specialist lawyers and paralegals operating across the wider region as a single unit from offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, and in Doha, Qatar.

The firm, which has been ranked in 2008 as the top law firm in the UAE for the fourth successive year by the international legal directory 'Legal 500', is one of the few law firms in the region with a 'full service' capability and has particular strengths in aerospace, banking & finance, cross-border trade & investment, intellectual property, international arbitration, trade disputes, mergers & acquisitions, corporate & commercial law, shipping, insurance, media & telecommunications, energy, capital markets, real estate & construction, and technology.

Clyde & Co has also recently been recognised as 'The most innovative firm in Dubai' by the Dubai Corporate Counsel Group in an award presented at the annual IFLR Middle East Awards.

Clyde & Co is a leading international law firm with over 1,200 employees worldwide. The firm has offices in Abu Dhabi, Caracas, Doha, Dubai, Guildford, Hong Kong, London, Moscow, Nantes, New York, Paris, Piraeus, Rio De Janeiro, San Francisco, Shanghai and Singapore and associate offices in Belgrade and St Petersburg. The firm also has an exclusive co-operation agreement with a major law office in Iraq.

For further information about Clyde & Co in the Middle East please contact:

Clinton Swan
Marketing & Business Development Manager (Middle East Region)
Clyde & Co LLP
Tel: +971 4 312 8568

For further international information about Clyde & Co internationally please contact:

Lisa Mercer
Head of Communications, London
Clyde & Co LLP
Tel: +44 (0)20 7648 1981

Sonia Kribi
Capital MS&L Middle East
D +971 4 367 6175
P.O. Box 502697 Dubai, UAE

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