INTERNATIONAL FIRMS FIRM BRIEFINGS CMS
2012 Firm Overview Active jurisdictions
Angola, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan (north), Tanzania, Uganda
Highlight clients BG Group, Maersk, Cairn Energy, Premier Oil
Most active disciplines Disputes, corporate, finance, EPC, environmental
Key offices London, Algiers, Casablanca, Dubai
Law capability
English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Angolan, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau
Key partners Ben Holland, Bob Palmer
CMS includes CMS Cameron McKenna and its CMS network firms. In Sub-Saharan Africa, CMS works through CMS Rui Pena, which manages work in Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique and infor- mal relationships with independent firms in the remaining countries. It has a strong profile for energy work and has also acted on notable infrastructure and power matters, including a substantial rail project in East Africa. A client acting in the West African oil and gas sector praises Bob
Palmer as “one of the most experienced oil and gas lawyers in London. He is a genuine expert, in the field for 20 years… understands the en- vironment, knows the industry, always responsive, everything you want in an oil and gas lawyer”. “CMS do all our M&A advice, farm-in, farm- outs and new licenses,” says the client. Palmer is a well-known London oil and gas lawyer formerly an in-house with Shell. Clients also recom- mend Andrew Shaw for his expertise in drilling and Richard Sinclair on acquisitions.
Matters Ben Holland and Phillip Ashley acted in oil sector disputes related to retrospective taxes and alleged fines and drilling arrangements while Bob Palmer was very active on the corporate side assisting clients on a joint-venture in Angola’s oil and gas sector, asset sales and acquisitions in Nigeria, Angola and Cote d’Ivoire and the acquisition of an interest in an oil block in Equatorial Guinea. Finance saw the firm busy on infrastructure projects, most notably
in East Africa where Jonathan Dames led a team on a $211 million fi- nancing for rail infrastructure and Andrew Ivison and Munir Hassan were engaged on a large renewables project. Andrew Shaw, Robert Lane and Hassan were also busy on drilling contracts in Tanzania and elec- tricity transmission arrangements and renewables IPPs in South Africa.
Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle
2012 Firm Overview Key partners
Remy Lerner, Geoffrey Lyonnet
Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle is strongly focussed on public law, where it has a good franchise in advising African governments on liti- gation and disputes, often in oil and gas related matters. A client in the Uganda government recommends the firm for litigation matters and arbitration.
DLA Piper
2012 Firm Overview Key partners
Ben Donovan, Joseph Tato
DLA Piper is one of the best known firms for Africa related matters. It has a non-exclusive network of formally associated local firms through- out the region in its DLA Piper Group and some of the strongest group firms in their jurisdictions include DLA Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr in South Africa, Sebalu & Lule in Uganda and Reindorf Chambers in Ghana. The firm has an especially strong profile in mining and metals.
Matters In one notable matter in Ghana, DLA Piper was working with its local Group firm Reindorf Chambers to advise the lenders on financing to Abengoa Water and Sojitz Corporation for the development of a desali- nation project. Another lender mandate saw the firm advising Standard Chartered in a $110 million claim against TANESCO and the govern- ment of Tanzania in relation to a 100MW independent power project.
Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs (ENS)
2012 Firm Overview Active jurisdictions
Botswana, Central African Republic, DRC, Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania
Highlight clients
Sasol New Energy, Group Five, Republic of Mozambique Pipeline Company, Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)
Key offices Johannesburg, Cape Town
Most active disciplines M&A and joint-ventures, project finance (energy, infrastructure and IPP), renewables finance
Key sectors
Mining and metals, oil and gas, power, renewables energy and clean technology, rail
Law capability English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, US, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda
Key partners Eric le Grange
Eric le Grange manages ENS’ Africa practice and comes highly recom- mended across the board for projects, project finance and corporate mandates. The firm has recently been extending its Sub-Saharan prac- tice through its ENS Africa brand, which has offices in Rwanda, led by Desire Kamanzi, Burundi, led by former Mkono & Co partner Gilbert Nyatanyi, and Uganda, under former Synergy Advocates man- ager Donald Nyakairu. In 2012, ENS handled projects in Tanzania, Central African Repub-
lic (CAR), Ghana and the DRC, where it has been advising Boss Min- ing, although it is strongest in southern African jurisdictions and in the booming Mozambique market. Clients praise the firm especially for corporate matters and in the mining and metals industry.
Matters Eric le Grange and Pippa Reyburn have been busy on a long running project for CIC Energy International Power, advising on project estab- lishment, regulatory and finance aspects of the coal-fired Mmamabula Power Project in Botswana, valued at $1.5 billion, as well as procure- ment of generation capacity by the South African government.
14 ENERGY & INFRASTRUCTURE | SUB SAHARAN AFRICA 2013
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