Corporate & Commercial

Overview

Our Corporate & Commercial practice area brings on broad sector experience and commercial awareness to every transaction. We help drive business growth while combining a strategic outlook with deep legal knowledge and a keen understanding of the business factors involved in this area of law.

Our Corporate & Commercial practice provides comprehensive legal advice by combining competition law, employment, financial, regulatory and taxation expertise. Our recent significant involvement includes advising complex mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and commercial contracts for which we are well regarded.

Key Contacts

George Oraro SC

Founding Partner

Jacob Ochieng

Partner

Cindy Oraro

Partner

Experience

    We regularly advise on IPOs, rights issues, medium-term notes, private placement bonds and the set up of new products in the NSE and the Capital Markets. In particular, we have advised:

  • Advising the largest sugar miller in Kenya in the restructuring of its debt, owing from local and international lenders. Our role involved reviewing the contractual documentation, restructuring facilities documents and other security agreements and providing a legal opinion on the debt restructuring.
  • Advising a Dutch firm involved in the water sector and a Dutch financial risk management firm on the establishment of a capital market structured water pool facility, to finance water infrastructure projects in Kenya.
  • Advising a leading commercial bank on its proposed restructuring. Our role includes advising on the powers under the Kenya Deposit Insurance Act, 2012 to undertake the restructuring, the legal aspects of the restructuring, and advising on alternative restructuring options.
  • Advising the Attorney General of Kenya in the largest and most complex debt and equity restructuring which involved reviewing the restructuring documentation, converting Government loans into equity and securing Government sovereign guarantees for key lenders and issuing new shares to investors in consideration of in-kind capital contributions of non-cash assets to the company.
  • Acting a legal counsel in relation to the sale of shares to a Kenyan cement manufacturer hold shares in a Mauritius based company that holds shares in another company that owns and operates the cement factory.
  • Advised the NSE and the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) on the demutualisation of the NSE, as well as compliance with various statutory regimes governing their respective operations.
  • Advised on three successful and heavily subscribed rights issues for a leading commercial bank in Kenya.
  • Advised the Government of Kenya and KenGen during its offer and sales of 6.5 million ordinary shares at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

Recent Insights

Within Limits: Understanding Restrictive Trade Practices Under the Competition Act, 2010

Two Cents: The Sale & Leaseback Model Alternative

In the Open: Disclosure Requirements Under the New Company Regulations

Location, Location, Location: The Making of Nairobi As a Financial Hub

Of Purchases & Protection: Spotlight on M&A Transactions

New in the Market: Share Buybacks Under the Companies Act, 2015

Related Services

Dispute Resolution

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