Corporate and M&A in Bangladesh

A.S & Associates

The corporate finance team at A.S & Associates handles a wide range of transactional and corporate advisory work, with a specialism in cross-border mergers and acquisitions for national banks and multinational corporations, as well as structured lending and security documents. This key points of contact for this work are A.S.A Bari, Ferdausur Rahman and Farhana Khan. In addition to the work generated by local contacts, the firm also receives frequent mandates from international law firms like Dentons.

Practice head(s):

A.S.A Bari;  Ferdausur Rahman; Farhana Khan

Other key lawyers:

Dewan Faisal

Testimonials

‘I have been working with AS Associates for close to 3 years. I find them responsive and they have indepth knowledge of the local regulatory landscape.’

‘Ferdaus Rahman – is the engagement Partner. Ferdaus’ insight into client needs and perspective, give him the unique edge of being able to synch up the law with business needs. He is calm yet firm in negotiations and this trait helps in getting what is needed for the client.’

‘Incredibly friendly support, they know our organization well and there’s definitely human beings behind the emails, and not just robots or cold faces.’

‘All of the 3 lawyers we deal with are great, but Ferdaus in particular is a gem. Spectacular support, super funny (in a professional, appropriate way), and goes out of his way to support us however we need.’

‘The Firm is dynamic and responsive to our day-to-day needs which include advising and assisting us with a flip transaction to incorporate a holding company in Singapore and other assisting in commercial vendor transactions. The approach of the Firm is detail-oriented advice and risk categorisation which has allowed us to stay focused on the key legal issues. The Firm has substantive knowledge and expertise in all legal areas and has advised us on the acquisition, merger, demerger, and commercial contracts including tech contracts, secretarial advisory, taxation, and regulatory services.’

‘The litigation wing of the Firm has advised us to deal with several claims of fraud and cybercrime committed by individuals on our platform and supported us to put forward our case during the investigation stage.’

‘Mr A.S.A Bari is the go-to person for transactional advice, he is very responsive and detailed in his approach. Mr Bari is aware of the key legal and commercial issues in a deal, be it any issues of demerger, commercial agreements, corporate secretarial, or taxation. His hindsight and commercial awareness make him unique and valuable. Our Board always resort to his advice on any critical legal and commercial issues that also help in the development of the business.’

‘Ms Farhana Khan is another name to point out. Ms Khan is well-versed with issues pertaining to technology law, telecom products, payment system regulations and data protection including advising on the critical corporate restructuring of the company to open a holding company in Singapore and conduct a flip transaction of existing shareholders in Bangladesh. Ms Farhana is a instrumental in advising on key legal issues on the restructuring process.’

Key clients

Alcon

Amzi & Associates

APM Global Logistics Bangladesh Limited

Banco Securities Limited

Beijing Deheng Law Firm

Beijing Kangda Law Firm

Bangladesh Clinical Trials Limited

Benetton

Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association

Bangladesh Power Development Board, BPDB

Bird & Bird LLP

Capital Alliance Limited

Classic FoodLab Limited

China Exim Bank Limited

China Railway Engineering

City Bank Capital Resources Limited

Clyde & Co. Clasis Singapore

Clyde & Co. UK

Codes & Labels Limited

Dahua Technology Bangladesh Pvt. Limited

Danish Condensed Milk Limited

Danske Bank A/S

Deloitte Bangladesh

Deloitte India

Dentons

Deutsche Bank AG

Devotech Technology Park Limited

Dhaka Bye-pass Expressway Limited

Doctime Bangladesh Limited

Doreen Power House and Technologies Limited

Doreen Power Limited

Dorji-e Ltd

Drew & Napier

Energis Power Corporation Limited

Envoy Textiles Limited

EPV Thakurgaon Limited

Equitable Group

ESS Advisory

Etihad Airway

Work highlights

  • Advised Grand Bengal Hotel Limited on its acquisition of a five-star hotel project in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and advised on the establishment of a legal relationship with Hyatte Palace through a Hotel Management Agreement to operate the hotel.
  • Advised one of the leading holding companies from Sri Lanka on its acquisition of 100% share of the leading super market chain company in Bangladesh.
  • Advised SSSL, a modern virtual service outsourcing company, in a series of commercial transactions forming part of a multi-country supply and distribution agreement valuing $84 Million.

Doulah & Doulah

Doulah & Doulah possesses a leading corporate practice that is known for acting on major high value transactions both domestically and internationally. The team acts on a number of major acquisition and M&A matters relating to major infrastructure projects in Bangladesh, and the firm’s fintech practice continues to grow as well. The main points of contact at the firm are project finance and development experts A.B.M. Nasirud Doulah and Amina Khatoon.

Practice head(s):

A.B.M. Nasirud Doulah; Amina Khatoon

Key clients

Amazon

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Walmart

JC Penney

Total Eren

Kmart

Hero Future Energies

Ib Vogt

Cyclect Energy

Aggreko

Target

Pendekar Energy

General Electric

Scatek Solar

Powerchina

CMEC

PepsiCo

Hyatt Hotels

Whirlpool

TBEA

Associated British Foods

ITC

China Energy Engineering Group

China Harbour

CAL Securities

Work highlights

  • Advised Amazon on structuring and implementing Amazon’s start-ups in Bangladesh with considerable equity investment with a large business plan over the years.
  • Successfully advised Sri Lankan conglomerate Capital Alliance Limited in acquiring a merchant bank.
  • Acted for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in divesting a sizeable stake in bKash, a non-banking financial institution, to Softbank to facilitate USD250 million investment.

Mahbub & Company

The growing corporate and M&A team at Mahbub & Company is an industry leader in the field of corporate advisory work and transactions, with a particular expertise in employment advice and cross border M&A transactions. The firm has a strong track-record in foreign investment and entity structuring for a number of major international corporates. Saqeb Mahbub leads the team ins handling significant cross border work in the technology sector and beyond, with a strong collection of associates such as Rifat Rahman and Tasmiah Zaman.

Practice head(s):

Saqeb Mahbub

Other key lawyers:

Rifat Rahman; Tasmiah Zaman

Key clients

Cross-border Education Technologies Pte Ltd. (Shikho)

DEKKO ISHO Ventures

Sainsbury’s

Live Green BD Limited

Multimode Group

Omicon Tech Ventures

Multi Sourcing (Pvt.) Ltd.

DAI Global LLC

The City Bank Limited

Handyman 24-7 Co. Ltd

Muslim Aid UK

Mutual Trust Bank

Viamo Inc

Identity Group

Multiplier Inc

Monsoon Holdings Limited

LBC Media

Roots Edu Tech

Xiaomi Technologies

Jubilant Foodworks (Domino’s)

Tetra Tech

Asian Age

Sena Kalyan Sangstha

Handymama

10 Minute School

Chondona Ltd

AllDoc Technologies

Fourth Partner Energy

Quantigo Ai

Times Group

Best Suppliers

Edutechs

Goldman Sachs

Work highlights

  • Advised Jubilant Foodworks Limited, master franchisee of Domino’s Pizza in South Asia on its acquisition of a 49pc stake from its JV partner in Bangladesh.
  • Advised ed-tech startup 10 Minute School on its funding round led by Bangladesh government-backed venture capital firm, Startup Bangladesh.
  • Advised Shikho Technologies on its acquisition of online learning platform Bohubrihi.

Sattar&Co.

Sattar&Co.‘s corporate team is frequently engaged on high profile corporate transactions in Bangladesh, with particular experience in advising domestic and multinational corporations within the aviation, employment, energy, pharmaceutical and media sectors. The team is also advises on joint ventures, corporate restructurings and foreign direct investments. The main of point of contact for the team is Sameer Sattar, the head of the firm who’s known for his strong practice in M&A and labour law.

Practice head(s):

Sameer Sattar

Other key lawyers:

Khademul Islam Choyon; Mahbub Hasan

Testimonials

‘Very responsive.’

‘Understood issues quickly.’

‘From the very first day of reaching out to Sattar&Co, their management team and staff have communicated, planned and delivered with a very high client focused quality. Sattar&Co has proven to be a stand out legal firm in the industry in terms of professionalism and very strong business ethics. They have advised us, guided us and enabled us to not only resolve our energy requirements at our factories, but also that the energy providing firm provides us a trouble free and highly satisfactory service.’

‘Unlike most other competing firms, Barrister Sameer Sattar, Founding Partner at Sattar&Co, is incredibly generous with his time and expertise. He is one of the most reputed legal minds in this country and has an incredibly personable character. Beyond that, I have to say that his humor and good nature makes long nights and tough deadlines much easier on his partners and associates.’

‘They have a good set of lawyers that comes from different background. And collaborates well with different resources to ensure right required input is in place for the case.’

‘Sameer Sattar the leader of the legal practice is a true leader with strong values, ethics n practice.’

‘The attorneys at Sattar & Co. are distinguished not only by their superior legal skill but also by their highest level of integrity and complete dedication to client service. They follow proper SOP(Standard Operating Procedure). They handle every small legal issue seriously and collaborate with us on every single pros and cons.’

‘Sattar & Co. have many qualifications which makes them quite different from the other existing legal farms. 1. They give us prompt support. 2. They are very concern about our company reputation. 3. They are reliable and professionally ethical.’

Key clients

Connell Bros. Co. Bangladesh (Pvt.) Ltd.

Rahimafrooz Ltd.

Esquire Accessories Ltd.

Fly Dhaka Airlines Ltd.

Tencent

Adobe Inc.

Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Ltd. (RREL)

Kuaishou

ASCENA Global Sourcing Hong Kong Limited

Denim Asia Ltd.

Marriott International

Sirajganj Economic Zone Limited

Shah Cement Industries Ltd.

Acorn Infrastructure Services Unit-3 Ltd.

Bangla Trac Power Unit-2 Ltd.

Work highlights

  • Advised Connell Bros. Co. Bangladesh (Pvt.) and its Singaporean counterpart on a share acquisition, which forms part of a global acquisition.
  • Advises Tencent on various legal issues including laws, inter alia, relating to Content Delivery Network (CDN) services, and data centre laws in relation to data retention and localisation within the jurisdiction of Bangladesh.
  • Assisted Fly Dhaka Airlines Ltd., a local private airline operator in incorporating the same in Bangladesh and also advising on leasing aircrafts from abroad.

TANJIB ALAM & ASSOCIATES

The corporate and M&A department at TANJIB ALAM & ASSOCIATES has acted as counsel for a number of high profile cross border mergers, acquisitions and takeovers, including the advising Robi Axia on its merger with Airtel Bangladesh. Corporate law experts Tanjib-ul Alam and Kazi Ershadul Alam are the key contacts on the team, supported by Nazmun Binte Islam.

Practice head(s):

Tanjib-ul Alam; Kazi Ershadul Alam

Other key lawyers:

Nazmun Binte Islam

Key clients

bKash Limited

United Group

Grameenphone Limited

KPMG

City Bank Limited

HSBC Bangladesh

Marico Bangladesh Limited

STS Holding Limited

Hapag Lloyd AG, Germany

Robi Axiata Limited

Work highlights

  • Advised bKash Limited in SoftBank Group’s investment through acquisition of shares.
  • Advised Bangladesh Steel Re-rolling Mills Limited (BSRM) in a merger with its subsidiary through exchange of shares.
  • Advised Dutch Development Bank- FMO and others in subscription of shares in ACI Motors.

The Law Counsel

The Law Counsel includes a strong corporate and TMT department, which services clients in Bangladesh and beyond. The team acts on a wide variety of corporate mandates, including market entry, compliance and commercial contracts in addition to its strong intellectual property practice. Important names on the team are the firm's founder Abdur Razzaq, telecoms expert Imran Siddiq and Ehsan Abdullah Siddiq, who has a strong employment law practice.

Practice head(s):

Abdur Razzaq; Ehsan Siddiq; Imran Siddiq

Testimonials

The Team of Law Counsel is renowned for its services with integrity. It has the capacity to tailoring services in accordance with the needs of the time and the industry as well as the needs of its clients.’

‘The key leaders of Law Counsel i.e. Mr. Abdur Razzaq, Ehsan A. Siddiq, Imran A. Siddiq all have both national and international legal education, training, and experience which makes them stand out amongst other similar law chambers.’

Key clients

Badische Anilin & Soda-Fabric AG (BASF), China

Reliance HMO, Nigeria

Naga Markets Europe Ltd., Cyprus

Haider Building Materials Company Ltd., HongKong

BIGO Live Technologies Ltd.

IMO

A.P. Moller-Maersk, Netherlands

Samsung Electronics, Korea

Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd.

Caterpillar Power Generation Systems (Bangladesh) Ltd.

Cable News Network (CNN), USA

Saudi Arabian Airlines Ltd.

Cisco Systems Ltd., USA

Uber Inc, USA

Reliance Insurance Ltd.

Alpha Credit Rating Ltd.

Northrop Grumman

Automattic, France

Supermax, UAE

Work highlights

  • Advised Badische Anilin & Soda-Fabric AG (BASF), China regarding the data protection and privacy laws of Bangladesh.
  • Advised Reliance HMO (Nigeria), a start-up tech company, regarding the legal and regulatory restrictions on setting up a business in Bangladesh.
  • Advised NAGA Markets Europe Ltd., a regulated financial services firm in Cyprus regarding the legal and regulatory restrictions on offering financial services in Bangladesh through cross-border arrangements.

DFDL Bangladesh

DFDL Bangladesh has a strong track record in the handling of high profile projects, mergers and acquisitions and foreign direct investments, including the largest foreign direct investment in the history of Bangladesh. The team is particularly strong within the energy, infrastructure, manufacturing and telecoms sectors. Shahwar Jamal Nizam leads the team, supported by associates Mahboob Aziz and Tarannum Tasnim.

Practice head(s):

Shahwar Nizam

Other key lawyers:

Mahboob Aziz; Tarannum Tasnim

Testimonials

‘Very knowledgeable and proactive team. DFDL has vast experience in working with international clients and foreign law firms. The firm has a very positive and solution-oriented approach. DFDL has been helpful both in the legal due diligence, ethics and compliance review and deal negotiations. Good domestic and international network. Clearly the up and coming go-to firm in Dhaka for foreign investors.’

‘Senior partner Shahwar Nizam. Very quick to respond. Solid pragmatic legal advise. Takes personal involvement and pride in deals. Pleasant person to work with. Has good network of stakeholders which has been useful for the country entry into Bangladesh.’

Key clients

JICA – Japan International Cooperation Agency

Clifford Capital

Japan Tobacco International

Janata Jute Mills

SC Johnson

ValueFirst

United Dhaka Tobacco Company Ltd.

Ecom Express

Truck Lagbe

Landesbank Baden-Württemberg

Actis

Nebras

Work highlights

  • Advised r-pac International, a leading global provider of branded packaging, trims, sensor technologies, and supply chain solutions for retailers, mass merchandisers, and brands, in obtaining investment from American Securities LLC, a leading U.S. private equity firm.
  • Advising Nebras in acquiring from Unique Group a 24% equity interest in Unique Meghnanghat Power Limited which is developing a 584 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant in Narayanganj, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
  • Advising Actis GP LLP in acquiring Nutan Bidyut Bangladesh Limited from Global Energy Ventures and Shapoorji Pallonji Infrastructure Capital Company Private Limited (SPICCPL), on the development of a 220 MW combined cycle gas turbine project at Bhola.