The Legal 500

Al Kamel Law Office fields a ‘dedicated and responsive’ team including much-praised practitioners Mahmoud Wahba, Tamim Foda and Rasheed Kamel. A busy dealsheet in 2010 included advising Palm Hills Development on two syndicated facilities for $100m and acting for German development finance institution DEG on a $10m facility to Sekem, an agriculture business, for land reclamation and cultivation.

Helmy, Hamza & Partners (Baker & McKenzie) maintains its reputation as a ‘go-to’ firm in Egypt for all manner of finance, whether project, debt or syndicated loans. The ‘outstanding cohesive team’ includes standout practitioners Taher Helmy, Mohamad Talaat, Mohamed Ghannam and Hazim Rizkana. Highlights for 2010 included advising lender Commercial International Bank on a $66.5m medium term loan agreement to the Egyptian Gas Derivatives Company (EBGD) to finance the Ras Shukeir gas derivative plant.

Zulficar & Partners Law Firm has benefited from a raft of instructions since its inception in 2009. A strong and experienced team, led by ‘powerhouse’ Mona Zulificar, closed a number of significant deals, including arranging a EGP1.1bn medium term facility for Arab National Cement Company, and also advised on the issuance of bonds worth EGP1.65bn by Orascom Construction Industries.

Shalakany Law Office retains banking expertise in a team led by the ‘respected’ Khaled El Shalakany. In 2010 the group advised the Egyptian Gas Derivatives Company (EBGD) on a £665m medium term loan agreement granted by Commercial International Bank to finance the Ras Shukeir gas derivative plant. The team receives frequent international instructions.

Banking clients recommend the ‘highly competent’ Ahmed El Sharkawy and the ‘experienced and knowledgable’ Jim Wright at Sharkawy & Sarhan. A slew of high-value deals included advising the Egyptian Drilling Company on a $250m financing from a syndicate of Egyptian banks, and advising Suez Canal Container Terminal on its bridge and medium term financing facilities, also from a syndicate of Egyptian banks.

The ‘erudite’ and ‘highly capable’ team at Zaki Hashem & Partners, Attorneys at Law offers clients the full range of banking services, from project finance, debt finance to complex restructuring. An impressive client list includes well-known domestic and international financial institutions.

Global firm DLA Matouk Bassiouny has considerable banking and finance capacity: notable transactions in 2010 includes advising JPMorgan, National Bank of Egypt and a syndicate of banks in granting the Egyptian General Petroleum Company (EGPC) a bridge facility of $1.5bn, and Petroleum Export IV a facility of $2bn, to finance the purchase of crude oil. John Matouk and Omar Salah Bassiouny are the key contacts at the practice.

2010 was a busy year for the two-partner, seven-associate team at Ibrachy & Dermarkar , which is headed by the ‘versatile’ Bahieldin Elibrachy. Standout deals included advising Nilesat on the financing of its new satellite by a group of international lenders headed by BNP, and acting as international counsel on a worldwide bond issue for a major energy distributor.

Ibrachy Law Firm receives client plaudits for its ‘quick turnaround, excellent acumen and hands-on approach’. Clients particularly like the ‘experienced and well connected’ Ashraf Elibrachy, while Tarek Gadallah and Ahmed Hussein are considered ‘very talented lawyers’. The firm has particular expertise on private equity deals. On the banking and finance side, Weather Investments and its subsidiary Orascom Telecom Holding are established clients.

Small but experienced outfit Nassar Law has established a strong reputation for project finance, with clients namechecking Nagla Nassar as ‘highly competent’ and ‘resourceful’.

Michael Lacey heads SNR Denton’s Cairo office which has 16 fee-earners. The firm has years of experience in the energy markets, and draws upon an excellent international client list for all types of complex financing. Clients include Standard National Bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Credit Agricole Egypt and ABN AMRO.

Trowers & Hamlins in association with Nour Law Office has a solid banking and finance practice which attracts high-profile borrowers and lenders. The two-partner Cairo team advised EFG Hermes on its involvement in the InfraMed infrastructure fund, launched in May 2010 with €385m at first close, and continued to advise the company on the creation of an Egyptian private ownership fund – the first in Egypt.