Simon Elliott Principal Associate

Simon Elliott

Based in the UAE, Simon has a wealth of experience advising private and government sector clients on a wide range of cross-border corporate and projects transactions across the Middle East and North Africa region. Simon previously worked as a corporate/M&A lawyer at international and US law firms in London.

Simon's practice focuses on cross-border and local M&A, private investments, joint ventures and corporate structuring/re-organisations. Simon has experience of advising the government sector, technology companies, multi-national corporations, regional and international investment funds and ultra-high net worth individuals on a wide range of corporate and commercial transactions across the MENA region. Simon's recent M&A experience is predominantly technology-focused, acting for the founder in connection with their sale of the Advanced Watertek group to Gradiant and Network Internationals' strategic disposals of their interests in Mercury Payment Services and Transguard Cash, as well as advising some of the region's most prominent technology companies (including e& Capital) on significant M&A and joint venture transactions.

Simon also has significant experience in the energy infrastructure sector, advising on P3 and private projects in the Middle East and Africa region acting for government authorities, offtakers, and lenders, focusing on the corporate aspects of such transactions (including sponsor shareholders' and consortium arrangements). Most recently, he was the lead associate on a team advising the UAE Government's Federal Electricity & Water Authority (FEWA) on the successful procurement of a key water desalination plant (with total capital expenditure of USD 1 billion) in the Northern Emirates. His experience also includes advising Almar Water, Kansai Electric Corporation and other multinationals on their bids for MENA PPP projects.

Simon is also been recognised as a notable practitioner for M&A by the legal directory ILFR1000.

Experience

UAE

M&A and Investments

• Advising a Government-owned fund in connection with multiple tech-related venture capital and strategic investments in Israel, UAE and the UK.
• Advising e& (formerly Etisalat) on its USD 50 million round investment (as lead investor) in Almentor, an Egyptian, Arabic-language online learning platform.
• Advising the founder-owner on the sale of the Advanced Watertek Group (a water treatment technology group) to Gradiant, a Singaporean water technology solutions company.
• Advising a UAE big-data analytics company on its joint venture with a central Asia sovereign wealth fund in connection with in-country digital transformation projects.
• Advising Network International (a London-listed international payment solutions provider) on its strategic disposals of interests in Mercury Payments Services and Transguard Cash.

Projects

• Advising the UAE's Federal Electricity and Water Authority (now Etihad Water & Electricity Company) on the procurement of a new build water desalination plant (with capital expenditure of USD 1 billion) in the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain.
• Carnival Corporation on its participation as port operator in a multi-billion US dollar development for a new cruise liner terminal in the UAE.
• Advising a consortium comprising four water developers (led by Almar Water) on their bid for the concession of the US$100 million Glen Valley Wastewater Reclamation Project near Gaborone in Botswana.
• Advising Alfanar Global Development, a leading Saudi Arabian construction and operations company, on the project development and financing for the construction, operations and maintenance of five Construction Villages procured by the NEOM Company.
• Advising Kansai Electric Power Corporation, a major Japanese utility based in Osaka, on its bid for the US 3.6 billion high-voltage subsea transmission project to link Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's offshore facilities to the national grid in Abu Dhabi.

UK

• Advising Global Risk Partners on its insurance-industry acquisitions of (i) Alan &Thomas Insurance, (ii) Greens Insurance Group, (iii) HIGOS, (iv) Marshal Wooldridge, (v) the County Group and (vi) Camberford Law.
• Advising Lightsource Renewable Energy on its agreement to enter into a partnership platform with UK Climate Investments (part of the Green Investment Group within Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets) to fund the development of large scale solar power assets in India.
• Advising Blue Energy in connection with the disposal of a 149MW onshore windfarm portfolio to funds managed by Octopus Investments.
• Advising Canadian Solar Inc. in connection with the disposal of a 142MW portfolio of solar generation assets to Greencoat Capital LLP.