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Matthew Powell is a partner in the Corporate Practice.
He focuses on private capital and cross-border matters, including joint ventures, farm-in agreements, public and private acquisitions and equity capital raisings, with an emphasis on the energy, industrial and technology sectors and transactions in emerging markets across MENA and sub-Saharan Africa. Matthew has in-house experience in those sectors and is known as someone who delivers what clients need for their business. Clients say he is “responsive, commercial and to the point” (Chambers 2023).
Matthew represents major international energy companies, multinational and regional corporates, infrastructure funds, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and private equity houses. He is ranked or recognised by Chambers, The Legal 500, IFLR and Thomson Reuters as a leading lawyer in M&A and corporate matters.
- Advised e& on its joint venture with ADQ and acquisition of a majority stake in Starzplay Arabia.
- Advised the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources on the structure of its first-ever public licensing round and the award of the Khnaiguiyah Licence to a consortium of Moxico Resources and Ajlan Bros: the largest mining licence ever awarded in the Kingdom (circa 360 square kilometres) with an unprecedented signing bonus of SAR250 million.
- Advised the Enera Group on its logistics joint venture with Abu Dhabi Ports Group to establish a leading logistics and import/export hub in Uzbekistan.
- Advising a GCC-based multinational on what is expected to be first-ever multibillion-dollar cross-border public offer under the Kingdom’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) Regulations.
- Advised Saudi Arabia Industrial investments (Dussur) as part of an international private equity consortium to the Clean Technologies business of DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (NYSE: DD) for US$510 million in cash.
- Advised e& on its acquisition of the DFS e-wallet platform from Dubai Islamic Bank.
- Advised Baker Hughes on its pipelines and related equipment joint venture with Saudi Aramco.
- Advised a GCC sovereign on its multibillion-dollar joint venture with Wynn Resorts to establish the region’s first integrated hotel and gaming resort.
- Advised The Byco Group, Pakistan’s largest independent refiner, on its investment framework agreement with the Abraaj group in order to structure a material upgrade of its Karachi refinery.
- Advised EFG Hermes on the close of the Egypt Education Fund, a Dubai International Financial Centre-based fund that focuses on investing in kindergarten to 12th grade schools in Egypt, and part of a US$300 million joint venture platform built in exclusive partnership with Dubai-based GEMS Education.
- Advised Neroli and Kapset Investments on their joint venture with Ellington Properties to develop multiple real estate projects in the UAE.
- Advised BIC East Africa Limited on the acquisition of HACO’s stationery, lighters and shavers business in the Republic of Kenya, and the Lucky Stationery business in Nigeria.
- Advised GB Finance and GAIA Lux S.a.r.l on the EGP750 million sale of a one-third stake in MNT Investments B.V. to ADP II Holding 9 S.a.r.l.
- Advised The Olayan Group on its investment in NPS Holdings Limited, a leading regional provider of integrated energy services in MENA and Asia.
- Advised ExxonMobil on the sale to Algeria’s Sonatrach of the 160,000 b/d Augusta refinery in Sicily, along with three associated fuel terminals and related pipeline infrastructure.
- Advised Mubadala Petroleum on the purchases of a 10% stake in the Shorouk Concession in Egypt, where the super-giant Zohr gas field is located, from Italian energy company Eni S.p.A. for US$934 million, as well as its subsequent acquisition of an upstream interest in the Nour North Sinai Concession in Egypt.
- Advised ADNOC Distribution on its joint venture with food retailing group Urban Foods LLC to open Géant-branded stores across its network of service stations in the UAE, one of the first major strategic actions taken by ADNOC Distribution since the flotation of 10% of its shares.
- Advised ADNOC Distribution on its initial public offering and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange listing, one of the largest public offerings in the UAE and one of the first listings to be done under the Emirates Securities & Commodities Authority’s new listing regulation.
- Advised the initial purchasers on Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline LLC’s inaugural US$3.037 billion bond offering.
- Advised Engie on the sale of its stakes in Paiton (Indonesian power assets) to Nebras Power and Mitsui for approximately US$1.5 billion and in Meenakshi (Indian power assets) for an undisclosed sum.
- Advised EFG Hermes on its joint venture with TNB International to purchase 365MW of UK solar assets from TerraForm Power for £470 million and on their sale of a 45% equity interest in Vortex to Kumpulan Wang Persaraan, Malaysia’s second largest pension fund.
- Advised Delek Group on the UK aspects of its acquisition of a 20% stake in Ithaca Energy Inc., the AIM and Toronto-listed E&P company focused on upstream operations in the North Sea.
- Advised Abu Dhabi Global Market on its establishment as an international financial centre in the United Arab Emirates (for which Shearman & Sterling was awarded “Corporate Team of the Year” at the Corporate Counsel Middle East Awards 2015).
- Advised Saudi Arabia Industrial Investments Company (Dussur) on its aeronautics joint venture alongside SAMI and Figeac Aero.
- Advised Anglo American on the sale of its interest in the Mantoverde and Mantos Blancos copper mines in northern Chile to an investor consortium led by Audley Capital Advisors LLP.
- Advised Fairfax Financial Holdings on its £1.2 billion takeover of Brit plc.
- Advised Liberty Global plc on its US$8.2 billion acquisition of Cable and Wireless Communications plc.
- Advised the financing consortium, led by Barclays, on Delphi’s £1 billion purchase of automotive group HellermannTyton.
- Advised Sasol Financing Limited on the asset sale and intra-group matters associated with the reorganisation of its NYSE-listed bonds.
- Advised the Dow Chemical Company on the English law aspects of its sale of MEGlobal to EQUATE Petrochemical Company K.S.C.
- Advised Engie (formerly GDF Suez) in connection with its Cameron LNG joint venture with Mitsui, Mitsubishi and Sempra Energy.
- Advised Vallares PLC on its merger with Genel Energy International Limited and subsequent re-listing on the LSE.
- Advised Genel Energy plc on the US$450 million acquisition of the Miran Block from Heritage Oil plc, as well as several other acquisitions in Kurdistan (Chia Surkh and Bina Bawi, with a combined consideration in excess of US$500 million), Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire, Somaliland and Ethiopia, and its US$200 million joint venture with White Rose Energy Ventures, offshore Angola.
- Advised Maersk Oil on its acquisition of the Piramagrun and Qala Dze Blocks and restructuring of the Sarsang block in Kurdistan.
- Advised a final stage bidder for the Shell Australia downstream portfolio in early 2014.
- Advised the purchaser of downstream assets from the Milford Haven refinery site.
*Some of the experience represented here may have been handled at a previous firm.
Education
- Nottingham Law School, L.P.C., 2004
- University of Oxford, B.A. (Honours), 2002
Admissions
- England and Wales, 2006