Advising corporates, sovereign wealth funds, and family conglomerates, Norton Rose Fulbright acts on major cross-border M&A, restructurings, and joint ventures across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. The practice is particularly active across the energy, infrastructure, financial services, and technology sectors, regularly handling complex, high-value strategic investments. Team head Zubair Mir is praised as ‘a true mastermind when it comes to M&A strategy’, often working with sovereign wealth-backed entities on transactions in the Gulf, Asia, Europe and Africa. Jonathan Burton counts multi-nationals, government agencies and high-net-worth individuals as part of a varied client roster, and Shazi Askarpour and Kenza Bensaid also come recommended.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Accolades
Client satisfaction: Lawyer & team quality
Client satisfaction: Sector knowledge
Client satisfaction: NPS ®
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Zubair Mir is a true mastermind when it comes to M&A strategy. Working with Zubair and his team is an absolute game-changer. His strategic insight and command over M&A intricacies gave us confidence at every stage.
- ‘Efficient, well organized and well managed corporate team, with a lot of expertise on the local market and GCC region. Very responsive, focused on business and quality.’
- ‘Jonathan Burton is full on with his responsibilities and team deliverables, leading to execution mode.’
- ‘Norton Rose is relied upon for its wise and thoughtful counsel combined with the ability to synthesize other parts of the firm seamlessly to fit our needs. The firm provides top quality advice and work product at all levels - senior partners down to the junior associates. It has a deep bench of expertise.'
- ‘Zubair Mir and Shazi Askarpour have been instrumental in guiding us through a series of complex cross-border M&A transactions. Their ability to manage multiple jurisdictions, anticipate challenges and deliver commercially sound solutions has been exceptional. Their collaborative approach and deep technical expertise gave us the confidence to move forward decisively, even in high-stakes situations.’
- ‘We were thoroughly impressed by the depth of expertise demonstrated by the M&A team. Their strategic insights and ability to navigate complex deal structures gave us immense confidence throughout the process.'
Key clients
- Royal Group
- International Holding Company (IHC)
- Arise Group
- Cleversoft Group
- Saudia Airlines
- Pure Health
- Dubai Islamic Bank
- Mawarid Finance
- Al Khaleej Training and Education Co
- Bp
- Qatar Energy
Work highlights
Advised bp on the formation of a new standalone joint venture and international natural gas platform with ADNOC named Arcius Energy.
Advised on a joint venture entered into between Mawarid and Plenty (a US-based vertical farming company) in relation to the development of vertical farming campuses in the GCC region (the first of which proposed to be in Abu Dhabi).
Advised German-based Cleversoft Group on its acquisition of Turkish RegTech company Fineksus.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Shazi Askarpour
Practice head
Zubair Mir
Other key lawyers
Jonathan Burton; Shazi Askarpour; Kenza Bensaid