africa · high-profile 20-year plan to generate electricity from renewable energy. the south...

AfricaOur expanding practice

Financial institutionsEnergyInfrastructure, mining and commoditiesTransportTechnology and innovationLife sciences and healthcare

Norton Rose Fulbright in Africa

Norton Rose Fulbright has one of the largest legal footprints in Africa of any international law firm and has been advising on deals in Africa for over 30 years. Africa is one of the firm’s major markets and is key to our future growth. This is evident in our experience of working in over 45 African jurisdictions both advising on transactions and on-going commercial operations and also assisting our clients to build their businesses both on the continent and internationally. Our African footprint is unrivalled – our on the ground presence with offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Casablanca demonstrates the strategic importance of Africa to our global business. Furthermore, we continue to extend our reach through strategic alliances with Shonubi Musoke & Co Advocates in Uganda, Shonubi, Musoke, Gilbert & Partners in Burundi, Gill, Godlonton & Gerrans in Zimbabwe and most recently, Walker Kontos in Kenya.

Band 1: Africa projects and energyChambers & Partners Global – Africa-wide 2019

Band 1: Africa banking and financeChambers & Partners Global – Africa-wide 2019

Band 1: Africa Corporate/Commercial: OHADA specialistsChambers & Partners Global – Africa-wide 2019

Band 1: Africa projects and energy: mining and mineralsChambers & Partners Global – Africa-Wide 2012-2019

Tier 1: Construction, Mining, Projects and infrastructure, dispute resolution – South Africa Legal 500 2019

Tier 1: Energy: renewable/alternative Norton Rose Fulbright Project Finance Team of the yearLegal 500 US 2019

Tier 1: Energy & infrastructureIFLR 1000 2016

Tier 1: Finance – Emerging marketsLegal 500 UK 2019

Africa biomass deal of the yearIJ Global Awards 2018

Winner of Africa Innovation AwardAfrica legal awards 2016

Africa mining and metals deal of the yearIJ Global Awards 2018

Africa solar deal of the yearIJ Global Awards 2018

Africa wind deal of the yearIJ Global Awards 2018

“The best team of lawyers I have ever worked with. They are really impressive, especially on structuring of deals and technical matters.”Chambers & Partners 2019

“The firm has the best projects team acting on African matters. They can bring together the various areas of expertise required to deal with complex matters very quickly” Chambers & Partners 2019

Africa – Our expanding practice

02 Norton Rose Fulbright – April 2019

Our Africa practice in numbers

We have been advising on

deals in Africa for over

30 years

We have

4 exclusive alliances

involving over

60 lawyers

We have

4 offices

We have over

350 lawyers based

in Africa

We have worked in over

45 jurisdictions

We have approximately

100 lawyers globally who advise on key Africa related transactions

We operate across

6 key sectors including

infrastructure, transport, mining, energy

and agribusiness

We are regarded as number

1 for Africa projects


Norton Rose Fulbright – April 2019 03

Sectors and practice

Our presence in Africa offers full-service capabilities across our key sectors: financial institutions; energy; infrastructure, mining and commodities; transport; technology and innovation; and life sciences and healthcare. We have experience of working in over 45 African jurisdictions both advising on transactions and on-going commercial operations and also assisting our clients to build their businesses both on the continent and internationally.

Africa continues to be one of the most desirable regions for project development and investment, especially in power, oil and gas, renewable energy, social infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, mining, commodities and agribusiness. All of which are key sectors for our legal practice. Our established global footprint, extensive country knowledge and expanding Africa network mean that we continue to dominate on matters and transactions across the full spectrum of practice areas including corporate and commercial, banking, disputes, regulatory and risk.

Coverage

Our lawyers are working on transactions from Morocco in the north to Nigeria and Senegal in the west, Kenya and Tanzania in the east, and across southern Africa. We advise on a variety of common and civil laws and have experience in Francophone and Lusophone jurisdictions.

Our global presence enables us to manage transactions across the developing axes of growth between Africa, Australia, Canada, China, India, Russia and the United States. Africa’s trade volumes with these and other emerging partners have doubled in value over the last decade, and inbound investment from trans-national corporations continues to rise

Team

We have over 350 lawyers based in Africa along with approximately 100 lawyers globally who advise on key Africa related transactions. In addition to this we have an ever expanding pool of high calibre associates actively involved and leading on Africa projects. As part of the development of our fee earners we have an exciting global mobility programme which means that associates can experience working on Africa projects whether in one of our Africa based offices or internationally.

Clients

Our clients include Africa’s major banks, development finance institutions, private equity funds, export credit agencies, and government agencies, and corporate organisations active in mining and resources; transport; construction; technology; media; pharmaceuticals; telecommunications and energy.



Our established Africa presence

Morocco

We have been active in North Africa for almost 20 years. Our clients include leading domestic and international corporates and financial institutions, as well as state entities. We advise on local and international law. We are particularly strong in energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, financial institutions and real estate. We established our Casablanca office in Morocco in 2011. In the same year, the strength of our reputation in the region earned us recognition as ‘the leading international law firm in the Moroccan market’ in Legal 500 and we are still ranked as Tier 1 today. As the top international practice in Morocco, we are recognized for our work in corporate, M&A and securities, and we are helping many leading North African clients in financial institutions, infrastructure and other sectors to expand into southern Africa.

South Africa

We are one of the top legal practices in South Africa with close to 250 lawyers and offices in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. We are consistently top ranked by the major directories for our work in mining, energy infrastructure projects and insurance, and have one of the premier dispute resolution and litigation practices in South Africa. We are equally strong in corporate and M&A work, financial institutions and telecommunications, and we are regarded as a market leader in banking and finance. We are able to handle the rising tide of cross-border transactions on behalf of major domestic and international corporates, commercial banks, government bodies, large mining concerns and multinationals. Our service to clients on cross-border projects is enhanced by our South-African based English, New York, Ugandan and Tanzanian law offering. We also have experience in Lusophone jurisdictions, specifically Mozambique and Angola.

The South African team is particularly well known for advising a large number of companies involved in building renewable energy facilities in South Africa, as part of the government’s high-profile 20-year plan to generate electricity from renewable energy. The South African Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) Programme is being replicated across Africa and we are acting on many of these first-in-country energy projects. Our clients include Africa’s major banks, development funds, private equity funds, export credit agencies, and government agencies, and companies active in mining and resources, transport, technology, media, telecommunications, energy, utilities and financial institutions. Our lawyers have advised on the largest and most complex broad-based black economic empowerment transactions carried out in South Africa to date.



Expanding our Africa footprint

Kenya

We have extensive experience in Kenya, where we have advised government entities, Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), financial institutions and large corporates on a number of significant transactions. We have particular experience in the financial and energy sectors. This includes advising Barclays Kenya on the financing of a geo-thermal independent power generation project with the World Bank (IDA), the Government of Kenya and The Kenya Power and Lighting Company Limited (KPLC). We also assisted the developer on all aspects of a 40MW first-in-country solar PV project in Western Kenya, including negotiation of a power purchase agreement with Kenya Power and Lighting Company under Kenya’s REFiT policy.

We have established an alliance with leading Kenyan law firm Walker Kontos, a firm with whom we have worked for over a decade. The firm was established in 1988 and has a full staff compliment of 50 including 9 partners and 11 associates. Walker Kontos is ranked Tier 1 for Banking and Finance by Chambers Global and is currently recognised for its work in M&A, project finance, energy, capital markets and real estate.

Uganda and Burundi

We have a wealth of experience in Uganda having advised on a number of substantial transactions including advising Absa Capital, Barclays Uganda and Standard Chartered Bank as international legal counsel in connection with the innovative US$100m debt financing of MTN Uganda. We advised GuarantCo and Stanbic (Uganda) Ltd on the Kalangala infrastructure project, which will improve access to water, safe transportation and more reliable electricity for residents.

Some of our important work includes advising on significant public private partnerships, including assisting the government of Uganda with its Uganda Police housing project. We have an established alliance with Shonubi Musoke & Co Advocates and have worked with them for over 15 years. Shonubi, Musoke & Co Advocates is one of the largest corporate and commercial law firms in Uganda and is ranked Tier 1 by IFLR1000 for Financial and Corporate and Project development. The firm was established in Kampala in 1987 and now has a legal team of 26 including six partners and 14 associates. It also has an associated office in Burundi through Shonubi, Musoke, Gilbert & Partners for whom focus is on corporate, banking, dispute resolution, employment and IP, with particular expertise in the financial institutions, energy, mining and transport sectors.

Zimbabwe

We have market-leading experience in Zimbabwe and have advised on a number of significant infrastructure and power projects including advising Zimbabwe Power Corporation on the 600MW extension of the existing power plant at Hwange and the Kariba Dam Hydro Expansion projects. Together the projects will increase Zimbabwe’s generation output by 900MW. We have an established alliance with Gill, Godlonton & Gerrans, a firm with which we have worked for over two decades. With 13 partners, Gill, Godlonton & Gerrans is one of the largest corporate and commercial law firms in Zimbabwe and is ranked Band 1 in General Business Law by Chambers Global 2019.

Walker Kontos

Band 1: Banking and Finance - KenyaChambers Global 2019

Tier 1 - Project development: PowerIFLR 1000 2019

Shonubi Musoke & Co Advocates

Tier 1 Firm IFLR 1000 2019

Tier 1 - Financial and Corporate and Project development IFLR 1000 2019

Band 1 – General Business LawChambers Global 2019

Gill, Godlonton & Gerrans

Highly Regarded Lawyer – Sue Brighton IFLR 1000 2019

Band 1 – General Business LawChambers Global 2019



Committed to capacity building in Africa

As one of the few global firms that actively operates across all African jurisdictions, building capacity and developing local legal capacity through knowledge transfer programs is high on our agenda. We have experience of offering all sorts of training programs ranging from programs that equip African lawyers with basic legal training to tailored workshops that encourage debate and discussion on cutting-edge legal developments.

A central tenet of us working in Africa is a deep commitment to building strong strategic partnerships with our clients and our network of local lawyers. This commitment goes beyond transactional work and extends to developing local legal capacity through knowledge transfer programs. We set out below two examples of our commitment to Africa capacity building:

Inside Africa

In December 2015, we launched an Africa-specific microsite, Inside Africa (www.insideafricalaw.com), a knowledge resource for our existing and prospective clients operating across the region. The objective of Inside Africa is to enable anyone active in Africa or doing business across the continent to access knowledge gained from working on the ground in more than 45 African jurisdictions, and to help drive the success of our clients’ business in Africa through our legal skills, sector expertise and local knowledge. Clients are able to access legal insights, thought leadership, practical guides, weekly blogs and online training as well as connect with our lawyers who are actively working on transactions in the region. Inside Africa is populated with submissions from lawyers across our global network and numerous articles are co-authored by expert lawyers located on different continents. In 2018 we launched the Inside Africa app – all the same content available on your mobile device.

Africa Energy Academy

The objective of our Energy Academy is simple - to develop a comprehensive and innovative programme of industry focused legal training. The Energy Academy was created in consultation with our clients in order to meet their training needs. Their feedback resulted in a series of Foundation Programmes in Power, Renewables, Oil & Gas and Financing Energy Projects. The Foundation programmes recognise the importance of training our clients from the very beginning of their careers. The Energy Academy provides an excellent way of sharing our knowledge and experience with our clients. We have already held the Energy Academy in our Johannesburg office and in conjunction with a local law firm in Cairo.



Contacts

Norton Rose Fulbright

Martin McCannGlobal head of businessTel +44 20 7444 [email protected]

Gregory NottHead of Africa, South AfricaTel +27 11 685 [email protected]

Alain MalekCo-head of North Africa, CasablancaTel +33 6 73 27 93 [email protected]

Steven GamblePartner, Johannesburg/ HarareTel +263 78 391 [email protected]

Bayo OdubekoPartner, LondonTel +44 20 7444 [email protected]

Anne LapierreCo-head of North Africa, Paris/CasablancaTel +33 1 56 59 52 [email protected]

Christophe AsselineauPartner, ParisTel +33 1 56 59 52 [email protected]

Daniel MetcalfePartner, LondonTel +44 20 7444 [email protected]

Jackie MidlanePartner, JohannesburgTel +27 11 685 [email protected]

Andrew BuissonPartner, LondonTel +44 20 744 [email protected]

Mark BerryPartner, LondonTel +44 20 7444 [email protected]

Madhavi GosaviPartner, LondonTel +44 20 7444 [email protected]

Poupak BahaminPartner, Washington Tel +1 301 541 [email protected]

Ikenna EmeheluPartner, New YorkTel +1 212 408 [email protected]

Emeka ChinwubaCounsel, New YorkTel +1 212 218 [email protected]

Steven PfeifferPartner, WashingtonTel +1 202 662 [email protected]

George GibsonPartner, TokyoTel +81 3 5218 [email protected]

Paul WeePartner, BejingTel 86 10 6535 [email protected]

Africa Business Development

Caryn AthanassiouBusiness development manager: Africa strategic alliances, JohannesburgTel +27 11 685 8515 [email protected]



Alliances

Walker Kontos

Michael KontosManaging partnerTel +254 20 [email protected]

Peter Muhiu MwangiPartnerTel +254 20 [email protected]

Shonubi Musoke & Co. Advocates

Dr Alan ShonubiSenior partnerTel +256 41 434 [email protected]

Noah Edwin MwesigwaManaging partnerTel +256 752 [email protected]

Andrew KibayaPartnerTel +256 31 226 [email protected]

Shonubi Musoke Gilbert and Partners

Gilbert Nibigirwe Managing partnerTel +257 22 [email protected]

Gill, Godlonton & Gerrans

Peter LloydSenior partnerTel +263 4 [email protected]

Raymond MoyoPartnerTel +263 4 [email protected]



People worldwide

7000+Legal staff worldwide

4000+Offices

50+Key industry strengths Financial institutionsEnergyInfrastructure, mining and commoditiesTransportTechnology and innovationLife sciences and healthcare

Global resources

Norton Rose Fulbright is a global law fi rm. We provide the world’s preeminent corporations and fi nancial institutions with a full business law service. We employ 4000 lawyers and other legal staff based in more than 50 cities across Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Africa.



EuropeAmsterdamAthensBrusselsFrankfurtHamburgIstanbulLondonLuxembourg

MilanMonacoMoscowMunichParisPiraeusWarsaw

United StatesAustinDallas Denver Houston Los AngelesMinneapolis

New York St Louis San Antonio San FranciscoWashington DC

CanadaCalgaryMontréalOttawa

QuébecTorontoVancouver

Latin America Mexico CityRio de JaneiroSão Paulo

Asia PacificBangkokBeijingBrisbaneCanberraHong KongJakarta1

MelbournePort Moresby (Papua New Guinea)

PerthShanghaiSingaporeSydney Tokyo

AfricaBujumbura3

Cape TownCasablancaDurbanHarare3

JohannesburgKampala3

Nairobi3

Middle EastBahrainDubaiRiyadh2

Our office locations

1 TNB & Partners in association with Norton Rose Fulbright Australia2 Mohammed Al-Ghamdi Law Firm in association with Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP3 Alliances



Norton Rose Fulbright Verein, a Swiss verein, helps coordinate the activities of Norton Rose Fulbright members but does not itself provide legal services to clients. Norton Rose Fulbright has offi ces in more than 50 cities worldwide, including London, Houston, New York, Toronto, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Sydney and Johannesburg. For more information, see nortonrosefulbright.com/legal-notices.

The purpose of this communication is to provide information as to developments in the law. It does not contain a full analysis of the law nor does it constitute an opinion of any Norton Rose Fulbright entity on the points of law discussed. You must take specifi c legal advice on any particular matter which concerns you. If you require any advice or further information, please speak to your usual contact at Norton Rose Fulbright.

Norton Rose FulbrightNorton Rose Fulbright is a global law firm. We provide the world’s preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. We have more than 4000 lawyers and other legal staff based in more than 50 cities across Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Africa.

Recognized for our industry focus, we are strong across all the key industry sectors: financial institutions; energy; infrastructure, mining and commodities; transport; technology and innovation; and life sciences and healthcare. Through our global risk advisory group, we leverage our industry experience with our knowledge of legal, regulatory, compliance and governance issues to provide our clients with practical solutions to the legal and regulatory risks facing their businesses.

Wherever we are, we operate in accordance with our global business principles of quality, unity and integrity. We aim to provide the highest possible standard of legal service in each of our offices and to maintain that level of quality at every point of contact.

© Norton Rose Fulbright LLP BDD13336 EMEA 04/19 Extracts may be copied provided their source is acknowledged.

nortonrosefulbright.com

africa · high-profile 20-year plan to generate electricity from renewable energy. the south...

Documents