FIRM BRIEFINGS INTERNATIONAL FIRMS MC&A
2012 Firm Overview Active jurisdictions
Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, South Africa
Key offices Lisbon
Most active disciplines Corporate, finance, EPC, employment, land, tax
Key sectors Mining and metals, oil and gas, industry and manufacturing, ports and shipping, rail, roads, water, sewage and utilities
Law capability English, US
Key partners Vítor Marques da Cruz
Portuguese firm MC&A has a strong portfolio of advising oil and gas companies on corporate and commercial matters. The firm is especially strong in Lusophone Africa, where it has a formal partnership with Fer- nanda Lopes & Associados in Mozambique and Mota Veiga Advogados in Angola. The firm has associations in various other countries, includ- ing South Africa and Brazil, as well as an association with SNR Denton. The key partners are Vítor Marques da Cruz, who handles banking
and finance, M&A and real estate matters, Ricardo Néry, a corporate partner, and oil & gas partner Pedro Gonçalves Paes.
Matters The firm was busy in Mozambique, where it was advising EDM on re- structuring issues, ONGC on an asset and share purchase for a gas deal and oil block concession and STL Oil on its incorporation in the coun- try. Vítor Marques da Cruz, Pedro Gonçalves Paes and Ricardo Néry were all active. In Angola, the firm advised Weatherford on asset and share deals and Bechtel in relation to LNG project infrastructure.
McDermott Will & Emery
2012 Firm Overview Active jurisdictions
Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, Congo (Republic of), Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Key offices London, New York, Boston, Paris
Highlight clients
Olam, ExxonMobil, United Energies International, Ugandan Securities Exchange
Most active disciplines Corporate. banking, project finance (energy and infrastructure), environmental, regulatory and compliance, tax
Key sectors
Mining and metals, oil and gas, renewable energy and clean technology, industry and manufacturing, ports
Law capability English, US, French, South African
Leading lawyers Nick Azis, Jean-Claude Petilon, Stuart Matthews, Andrew Vergunst, Andrew Watson, Rupert Weber
In 2013, McDermott Will & Emery (MWE) recruited Jean-Claude Petilon and his team in Paris, one of the biggest names for Africa work in the French market. The announcement followed the hire of Africa dedicated partners Rupert Weber and Stuart Mathews in London from Maitlands. These additions have significantly changed the firm’s profile in the Africa energy and infrastructure space. Webber is “hands down the best guy I’ve ever dealt with, he’s very prag-
matic and very commercially minded” says a client, adding that the firm is “on the ball, they operate in any terrain, are quick on their feet and flex- ible and very thorough too”. Clients also praise Africa co-head Nicholas Aziz and David Goldman for M&A work in West Africa. The firm is traditionally strong for corporate, private client, tax and
regulatory compliance work in relation to US and UK Bribery laws. New York partner Obiamaka Madubuko is a key name for the latter practice. The former Maitlands partners have strong experience in min- ing and metals, diamonds, oil and gas and renewables, while Andrew Watson and Azis have recently handled significant infrastructure proj- ects. The firm’s engagement in the region also expresses itself in its part- nership with Caterpillar and Lawyers Without Borders (LWOB) in the context of advocacy training in Kenya.
Matters Andrew Watson led a team advising an international oil company in relation to financing, adding up to $1 billion, for oil infrastructure de- velopment in Chad and Cameroon, while the Maitland’s pair assisted Petro SA on an acquisition of an owner of an interest in the Jubilee oil and gas fields in Ghana. Nick Azis, supported by tax and employment partners, worked with
Olam International in Nigeria on its acquisition of OK Foods food manufacturer, the acquisition of dairy food company Ranona and joint- venture to construct a sugar refinery in the port of Lagos. One of the firm’s highlight deals was for a confidential client’s investment, valued at $5.2 billion, in Southern Africa’s precious metals sector. Andrew Ver- gunst, Stuart Mathews and Rupert Weber, among others, advised.
Norton Rose
2012 Firm Overview Active jurisdictions
Angola, Botswana, Congo (Republic of), Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Key offices London, Johannesburg, Durban, Paris, Dubai, Tanzania
Highlight clients
Tullow Oil, Copperbelt Energy Corp, Anvil Mining, Kingdom Zephyr Africa Management
Most active disciplines Disputes, Corporate, Banking and Finance, EPC, Employment, Land Law
Key sectors oil and gas, power, renewable energy and clean technology, ports, rail
Law capability English, US (see profile), French, Portuguese, South African
Key partners
Matt Ash, Julian Jackson, Raj Karia, Richard Metcalf, Bayo Odubeko, Arun Velusami
Norton Rose is ubiquitous on the African energy and infrastructure mar- ket and its merger in 2012 with leading South African firm Deneys Reitz will no doubt increase this visibility even more. Its planned merger with Fulbright & Jarworski in 2013 will also add a vital US law capacity.
ENERGY & INFRASTRUCTURE | SUB SAHARAN AFRICA 2013 19
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