Lauded by clients as being a ‘powerful pan-African platform’, the corporate M&A team at ENSafrica is highly capable of handling all aspects of private equity and venture capital matters. The group is under the joint leadership of Mahesh Acharya, whose practice focuses on joint ventures, and Amar Grewal-Thethy, who specialises in corporate restructurings and cross-border M&A. Anthony Gakuru is well-equipped to handle a range of matters in the corporate commercial landscape, and Binti Shah is another key member of the team who routinely advises on transactions from a banking and finance perspective.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘ENSafrica’s Commercial, Corporate and M&A practice demonstrated strong technical capabilities in conducting a comprehensive legal due diligence. Their review covered corporate information, contracts, property, licences, IP, litigation, taxation, employment, data protection, and KYC/AML. They provided actionable recommendations, identified key legal risks, and flagged important housekeeping issues such as shareholder approvals, data protection compliance, and registration of security rights.'
- ‘The key ENSafrica team members were Mahesh Acharya and Binti Shah. Both provided a rigorous legal review and brought strong knowledge across multiple regulatory and contractual areas. Their work was thorough, and they were effective in spotting material risks and compliance gaps.'
- ‘ENS Kenya's primary differentiator is its seamless integration of deep local expertise with a powerful pan-African platform. Unlike many other firms that operate as standalone Kenyan practices or loose international affiliations, ENS is a fully integrated African legal network. This means that clients receive nuanced, on-the-ground knowledge of the Kenyan market, backed by the resources and cross-border experience of the largest legal practice in Africa.'
- ‘The individuals at ENS Kenya combine exceptional legal technical skill with a client-service ethos that is both proactive and responsive. They are not just brilliant lawyers; they are effective communicators and strategic partners. Amar Grewal-Thethy is a respected Counsel who has also managed to leverage his client base to advance key commercial interests for us.'
- ‘They have specialists in each legal field and a wide network in Africa. For our company with various interests in Sub-Saharan Africa, this gives us more peace of mind. They work well in a team so that we are always supported whenever an individual is not available.’
- ‘They are very responsive and clear in their communication. Mahesh Achraya in particular was fundamental in our M&A negotiation and drafting of the SPA and SHA to safeguard our interests while smoothening areas of disagreement with our target.’
Key clients
- Inflexion Private Equity Partners LLP
- Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development S.A.
- West China Cement Ltd
- FSD Africa Investments
- Sanlam Allianz Africa (Pty) Ltd
- M-Pesa Foundation - CarePlay
- Rubis
- Alterra Capital Partners
Work highlights
Advised Rubis Energy Kenya Plc on a joint venture with Solarise to develop and finance solar photovoltaic systems for some of Rubis’ premises and in future, for its commercial and industrial customers in Kenya.
Advising Inflexion Private Equity Partners LLP on behalf of the client to provide legal, regulatory, and transactional advice for the acquisition of Nodor International Ltd.
Advising Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development S.A on acquisition by AKFED of 2.42% of the shares in TPS Eastern Africa Plc (Serena Hotels) from Aga Khan University Foundation.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Timothy Mutegi
Practice head
Mahesh Acharya; Amar Grewal-Thethy
Other key lawyers
Binti Shah; Anthony Gakuru; Timothy Mutegi