19 June 2016
Clifford Chance is advising Al Khair National for Stocks and Real Estate (Al Kharafi family) on the sale of its majority stake in Americana, the leading F&B business in the Middle East.
With a network of over 1,200 outlets, Americana is the largest operator of restaurant chains in the MENA region, including brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Hardee's, TGI Friday's, Costa Coffee and Krispy Kreme.
In addition, Americana has one of the region's most significant food manufacturing businesses, including California Garden.
A binding agreement to implement the sale was entered into on 18 June 2016 with Adeptio AD Investments, an investment company controlled by H.E. Mohamed Alabbar.
The proposed sale of the Kharafi family's stake in Americana is by some margin the largest M&A deal in the region for 2016 to date.
The Clifford Chance team, led by M&A partner Mohammed Al-Shukairy, has been advising on all legal aspects of the transaction, since inception in 2014 as an auction process (which has attracted significant interest from trade bidders as well as private equity firms).
The transaction entails both private M&A aspects as well as public M&A processes, as Americana is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange.
Mr Loay Jassim Al Kharafi commented: "Clifford Chance leveraged its regional and global expertise with unwavering support from the very beginning. Their team, led by Mohammed, has provided us throughout the process with robust, highly technical advice and in a commercially sound manner that has been critical to our process."
Mohammed Al-Shukairy commented: "I am really pleased for the Al Kharafi family and our team remains committed to them as we move ahead to closing. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with and being part of the team at Al Khair on this transaction, which has required intricate structuring across multiple jurisdictions and pro-active management of hurdles and various deal requirements. More broadly, I think a transaction of this size and complexity provides a timely shot in the arm for the high-end M&A market in the region."
Completion of the sale is subject to limited conditions, customary for a transaction of this nature.
-Ends-
AboutClifford Chance is the Middle East's market-leading international law firm, with more regional Tier One directory rankings and industry awards than any other firm. We work with clients throughout the Middle East and North Africa and have offices in Abu Dhabi, Casablanca, Doha, Dubai, Istanbul and Riyadh.
Clifford Chance is one of the world's pre-eminent law firms with significant depth and range of resources across five continents. As a single, fully integrated, global partnership, we pride ourselves on our approachable, collegiate and team based way of working. We always strive to exceed the expectations of our clients, which include corporates from all the commercial and industrial sectors, governments, regulators, trade bodies and not for profit organisations. We provide them with the highest quality advice and legal insight, which combines the firm's global standards with in-depth local expertise.
Clifford Chance was ranked 'Band 1' in more cross-border tables than any other firm in the Chambers Global 2016 Directory. This independent analysis focuses on firms' legal ability, professional conduct, client service, and commercial awareness, and these rankings provide outstanding recognition for the firm's breadth of expertise and consistency of quality across global markets.
For further information about Clifford Chance see www.cliffordchance.comFor further information about this release contact Magdalena Suder on +971 4 503 2744.
Rebecca Settle
Business Development Manager, Middle East
Clifford Chance LLP
Level 15
Burj DamanDubai International Financial Centre
PO Box 9380, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Direct Line: +971 4 503 2717
Mobile: +971 50 659 6926
rebecca.settle@cliffordchance.com
Registered with the DFSA
Clifford Chance is advising Al Khair National for Stocks and Real Estate (Al Kharafi family) on the sale of its majority stake in Americana, the leading F&B business in the Middle East.
With a network of over 1,200 outlets, Americana is the largest operator of restaurant chains in the MENA region, including brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Hardee's, TGI Friday's, Costa Coffee and Krispy Kreme.
In addition, Americana has one of the region's most significant food manufacturing businesses, including California Garden.
A binding agreement to implement the sale was entered into on 18 June 2016 with Adeptio AD Investments, an investment company controlled by H.E. Mohamed Alabbar.
The proposed sale of the Kharafi family's stake in Americana is by some margin the largest M&A deal in the region for 2016 to date.
The Clifford Chance team, led by M&A partner Mohammed Al-Shukairy, has been advising on all legal aspects of the transaction, since inception in 2014 as an auction process (which has attracted significant interest from trade bidders as well as private equity firms).
The transaction entails both private M&A aspects as well as public M&A processes, as Americana is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange.
Mr Loay Jassim Al Kharafi commented: "Clifford Chance leveraged its regional and global expertise with unwavering support from the very beginning. Their team, led by Mohammed, has provided us throughout the process with robust, highly technical advice and in a commercially sound manner that has been critical to our process."
Mohammed Al-Shukairy commented: "I am really pleased for the Al Kharafi family and our team remains committed to them as we move ahead to closing. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with and being part of the team at Al Khair on this transaction, which has required intricate structuring across multiple jurisdictions and pro-active management of hurdles and various deal requirements. More broadly, I think a transaction of this size and complexity provides a timely shot in the arm for the high-end M&A market in the region."
Completion of the sale is subject to limited conditions, customary for a transaction of this nature.
-Ends-
About
For further information about Clifford Chance see www.cliffordchance.comFor further information about this release contact Magdalena Suder on +971 4 503 2744.
Rebecca Settle
Business Development Manager, Middle East
Clifford Chance LLP
Level 15
Burj DamanDubai International Financial Centre
PO Box 9380, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Direct Line: +971 4 503 2717
Mobile: +971 50 659 6926
rebecca.settle@cliffordchance.com
Registered with the DFSA
© Press Release 2016
