UAE-side advisory on mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures — coordinated with our Danish M&A practice where the transaction has a European dimension.
Provided by Moore Law Firm FZ-LLC · Meydan Freezone Licence No. 2309392 · Corporate service provider & consultancy.
The UAE has matured into one of the principal Middle Eastern markets for mergers, acquisitions, and joint-venture activity. The country's combination of regulatory sophistication, treaty network, financial infrastructure, and continued economic growth has produced a healthy and increasingly complex M&A environment — across both inbound transactions (international acquirers of UAE businesses) and outbound transactions (UAE-based investors deploying internationally).
Moore Law's UAE corporate practice acts on the UAE side of M&A and joint-venture transactions involving UAE parties, UAE-domiciled targets, or UAE-side structuring of cross-border deals. The work integrates with the firm's Danish M&A practice (see the Legal & Tax M&A and joint ventures page) where the transaction has a European dimension, and with admitted UAE counsel for matters requiring local court or regulatory representation.
The underlying discipline is the same as for the Danish-side practice: the transactions that hold up are the ones that were structured carefully from the outset, with the regulatory, tax, and commercial dimensions integrated into the deal architecture.
Structuring of UAE-side transactions in light of the UAE legal and regulatory framework — including the choice between share and asset deals, the treatment of mainland vs freezone targets, the management of foreign-ownership considerations where they apply, and the integration of the deal structure with the underlying UAE corporate-tax position.
UAE-side legal, regulatory, and tax due diligence on acquisition targets — including the underlying corporate position, licence status, real-estate holdings, employment arrangements, contractual relationships, and any contingent or actual disputes. Identification of the matters that should be reflected in the deal documents and those that should drive the price itself.
Drafting and negotiation of the UAE-side transaction documents, in coordination with the principal deal counsel where the transaction has multiple jurisdictional dimensions. Including share-purchase arrangements, asset-purchase arrangements, joint-venture agreements, shareholders' agreements, and the various ancillary documents that accompany substantive UAE transactions.
Design and documentation of joint ventures involving UAE parties — including the choice of vehicle (mainland LLC, freezone JV, offshore JV, contractual JV), the integration with the parties' broader structures, the governance arrangements, the contribution and funding mechanisms, and the exit arrangements that should be in place from day one.
Management of the UAE regulatory clearances that apply to substantive M&A activity — including merger-control considerations under the UAE Competition Law where applicable, sector-specific regulatory approvals, foreign-ownership considerations under the FDI framework, and the various filings required at federal and Emirate level.
Conduct of the UAE-side closing — coordination of the conditions precedent, the funds flow, the share-register and ultimate-beneficial-owner filings, the licence amendments, and the formal completion mechanics. Post-completion integration including the handling of warranty claims, earn-out monitoring, and transition arrangements.