Asad leads the Anti-Trust and Competition Practice at GLA & Co, renowned for his expertise in merger control and corporate law. His extensive experience spans various sectors including renewable energy, finance, data protection, education and healthcare. He has extensive experience in conducting thorough due diligence for complex mergers and acquisitions, excelling in navigating cross boarder distribution arrangements and ensuring corporate regulatory compliance. As a seasoned corporate attorney, Asad is skilled in negotiating intricate agreements and managing corporate transactions. Notably, his decade-long background in healthcare as a registered respiratory therapist provides a distinctive perspective to his legal counsel. His diverse expertise uniquely positions him to offer insightful guidance in merger control matters, leveraging a deep understanding of corporate complexities and regulatory environments. Asad is known as a relentless advocate on behalf of his clients and was distinguished with the 2023 Rising Star Award, by The Law MEA. 

Before joining GLA & Company, Asad practiced as a corporate commercial attorney at Al Tamimi & Company in Kuwait and prior to that as a corporate attorney in the United States. Asad’s previous experience includes: Negotiating Asset Purchase Agreements and related disclosure schedules, intellectual property agreements, professional online marketing services agreements, confidentiality agreements, non-competition non-solicitation agreements, ad advising clients on service mark and trademark availability, registrability, and design, Asad also has experience in commercial litigation, which includes drafting complaints, deposition preparation, and commercial defense work of handling all interrogatories and requests for production.

Asad has a healthcare background as a practicing registered respiratory therapist for over 10 years. He was the youngest graduate of his program and president of his class. Asad also has some experience as healthcare fraud defense attorney successfully representing physicians and healthcare entities against claims of fraud.

Education

  • The University of Akron School of Law – Akron, Ohio, USA, Juris Doctor (2015)
  • Bowling Green State University – Bowling Green, Ohio, USA, Bachelor’s in Applied Sciences and Specialty in Department Management (2010)

Professional Memberships

  • (US) State of Ohio Bar
  • (US) State of Ohio Medical Board – Respiratory Care
  • International Bar Assocation (IBA) – Anti-Trust Section Committee Member.
  • American Bar Association (ABA)
  • Inter-pacific Bar Association (IPBA)

Recent Experience

Anti-Trust & Competition

  • Advised Werfen and Seegene Korean healthcare products providers as co-counsel with Cuatrecasas, filing an economic concentration application for their intended joint venture which has a significant effect over multiple GCC countries.
  • Advised Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. as co-counsel with DLA Piper UK LLP with respect to filing and economic concentration application and securing merger control clearance on the mega-deal involving the sale of shares in Formula E Holdings to LGCI Holdings Limited and Liberty Global Broadband I Limited. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world’s most differentiated and complete portfolio of content and brands across television, film and streaming.
  • Successfully obtained Waiver Certificate on Behalf of SITA N.V. in the Purchase of Majority Stake in Materna IPS GmbH and Materna IPS India Private Limited. Despite meeting the financial threshold, we successfully secured a No Notification Required Certificate from the Saudi General Authority for Competition on behalf of SITA N.V., demonstrating that the transaction neither directly nor indirectly impacts the Saudi market. SITA N.V. is the world’s leading specialist in air transport communications and information technology.
  • Acting as a local counsel, GLA advised a European industrial company as co-counsel with Legance concerning filing an economic concentration application and securing merger control clearance for acquiring a weapons systems business unit from another major European defence company.
  • AdvisedTahweel Integrated Company as co-counsel with Sidley Austin with respect to filing an economic concentration application and securing merger control clearance for acquiring a majority stake in Nile Investment Company from its owner, OSD International. Tahweel is a major plastic pipes manufacturer based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Tahweel leads on various products and markets such as; retail and wholesale trading of plastic products; manufacturing of plastic pipes and fittings; and plastic thin film production.
  • Advised Italian Mapei S.p.A. on its acquisition of 100% of the shareholding in Saudi-based Bituminous Products Limited Company (“Bitumat”) by securing merger control clearance from the Kuwait Competition Protection Agency and on the restructuring of Bitumat’s operations in Kuwait. Mapei is an Italian-based leading global manufacturer of adhesives, sealants, and other chemical products for the building industry and has a long history of supplying many significant projects across the Middle East.
  • Advised Cognita Limited as co-counsel with Addleshaw Goddard with respect to filing an economic concentration application and securing merger control clearance on in its acquisition of Universe Education Company K.S.C.C. Cognita is an extraordinary community of diverse yet connected schools, spanning sixteen different countries. With over 100 schools in Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and India and North America, Cognita employs 15,000 teaching and support staff in the care and education of more than 85,000 students world wide.
  • Advised Columna Capital Group as co-counsel with ECIJA with respect to filing and economic concentration application and securing merger control clearance on behalf of Columna Capital Group in its acquisition of a 72.5% stake in Zumex Group worldwide portfolio through a mutually agreed binding offer. Columna Capital is a private equity investment company based in London, UK whose main activity is to invest in lower-mid market companies with revenues of certain annual figures among different European countries such as Austria, France, Italy, Spain, or Switzerland in a wide range of sectors including healthcare, animal health and other services.
  • Advised Apollo Management X, L.P. in the acquisition of Applus Services, S.A. by Manzana Spain Bidco, S.L.U., by securing merger control clearance from both the KSA General Authority for Competition (“GAC”) and the Kuwait Competition Protection Agency (“CPA”). The parent company, Apollo Global Management, is an American private equity firm. It provides investment management and invests in credit, private equity and real assets.  As of 2022, the Company has $548 billion of assets under management, including $392 billion invested in credit, including mezzanine capital, hedge funds, non-performing loans and collateralized loan obligations, $99 billion in private equity and $46.2 billion invested in real assets, which includes real estate and infrastructure.
  • Advised Silver Lake Group as co-counsel with Simpson Thabher & Bartlett with respect to filing and economic concentration application and securing merger control clearance on behalf of Silver Lake in its EUR 2.4 billion acquisition of indirect sole control of Software AG by way of voluntary public takeover offer and private acquisition. Silver Lake is an American global private equity firm focused on investments in technology, technology-enabled and related industries. 
  • Obtained both merger control clearance and a pre-notification no objection on behalf of Beit Al Aseel General Trading in the divestment of its 35% minority stake in Gisssah for Perfumes, Teeb and Oud WLL (Kuwait) and Gissah for Perfumes (KSA). Better known as Aseel Perfumes, is a multi-million dollar company and is known as a pioneer in the production of natural oud oil, sticks and saffron across the world.
  • Advised Emerson as co-counsel with Davis Polk & Wardell with respect to filing and economic concentration application and securing merger control clearance on the mega-deal involving the sale of a majority stake in Emerson’s Climate Technologies business. Emerson is a global technology and software company providing innovative solutions for the world’s most essential industries. Emerson is an automation leader that helps process, hybrid and discrete manufacturers optimize operations, protect personnel, reduce emissions and achieve their sustainability goals through its unmatched automation portfolio, including its majority stake in AspenTech.
  • Advised a group owned by members of the Al Kharafi merchant family with respect to filing an economic concentration application and securing merger control clearance in acquiring Investcorp’s 35% stake in Automak Automotive Company, a vehicle leasing and rental company in Kuwait. Automak is one of the few major players in the vehicles rental and fleet leasing business with a sizeable market share in Kuwait. Automak operates a fleet in excess of 5,000 vehicles. Its premier clients include national oil companies, public ministries and multinational corporations.

Corporate

  • Represented DSV Panalpina in its acquisition of the logistics division of Agility Public Warehousing Company as MENA counsel in an all-share deal worth US$ 4.1 billion, the largest merger & acquisition transaction in the MENA region in 2021;
  • Acted as Kuwait Counsel for IBM, in its global business model restructuring of its hardware, software, and services;
  • Represented Marriot Drilling, the largest onshore deep drilling and associated services company, in its agreement to provide drilling services on various oil and gas wells within the State of Kuwait;
  • Represented Beghelli Präzisa GmbH, a leading developer, manufacture, and distributer of emergency lighting in the world, in its distribution arrangement;
  • Represent DHL, a global logistics service provider, as Kuwait council in its agency and distribution arrangements;
  • Represented Ulysse Nardin, a world leading luxury watch brand, in its business operations in the State of Kuwait, including proper termination of an agency arrangement and establishment of an favorable distribution arrangement; and
  • Represented Trafalgar General Trading Company, a Kuwait-based retailer of luxury fashion products including (Chopard, Dior, Gucci, Aigner, TAG, Heuer, Versace, Escada, Swarovski, Burberry, Montegrappa), in its collaboration with Tiffany & Co in the State of Kuwait.

Banking & Finance (Conventional & Sharia-Compliant)

  • Appointed as transaction co-counsel with respect to a US$ 180,000,000 financing from Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank to Kuwait Finance House;
  • Appointed as transaction co-counsel with respect to a US$ 75,000,000 financing from Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank to Warba Bank

Commercial Advisory

  • Advised Kitopi, world’s leading managed cloud kitchen, with respect to its business structure in the state of Kuwait and its internal employment policies;
  • Represented the University for the Creative Arts, the top creative specialist university in the UK, in its collaboration to create and establish an undergraduate/postgraduate foreign co-operative university in the State of Kuwait;
  • Represented Santen SA, one of the world leaders in the ophthalmic pharmaceutical market, in its distribution arrangements in the state of Kuwait and Qatar;
  • Currently advising AbbVie Biopharmaceuticals, a world leading biopharmaceutical company, with respect to its overall business arrangement and operations in the state of Kuwait;
  • Advise National Advisory Services Company WLL, with respect to its joint venture collaboration in relation to the Norther and Southern Kuwait Excavation, Transportation and Remediation projects.

 

Speaking Engagements & Publications

Speaking Engagements

  • IBA – Panellist – Asia Pacific Regional Forum on the Global Impact of India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act (2024)
  • Lexis Nexis – Speaker – Bahrain Business Law Forum (2024)
  • GLA & Co – Foreign Direct Investment: Regulations in the MENA Region Webinar (2024)
  • GLA & Co – Data Privacy Regulation Developments in KSA, UAE, and Kuwait (2024)
  • GLA & Co – Merger Control in the GCC – Practical Considerations Webinar (2024)
  • Thompson Reuters – Webinar: Data Protection & Regulation (2023)
  • Thompson Reuters – Webinar: Merger Control in the GCC (2022)

Publications

  • Legal 500 – Merger Control 2024 Practice Guide – Contributor and author of Kuwait and KSA
  • Chambers Global Practice Guides Merger Control 2024 – Contributor and author of the Kuwait, UAE, KSA and Egypt
  • Concurrences – Competition law and policy in the Middle East and North Africa
  • One Trust Data Guidance – Kuwait Data Protection Overview 2024
  • Chambers Global Practice Guides Merger Control 2022 – Contributor and author of the Kuwait, UAE, KSA and Qatar
  • Chambers Global Practice Guides Data Protection & Privacy 2023 – Contributor and author of the Kuwait, UAE, KSA

Languages

  • English
  • Arabic

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