Hegui A. Taha is the Head of GLA & Company’s Cairo office and a leading corporate and M&A lawyer whose practice spans the full spectrum of complex commercial transactions across the Middle East and North Africa. With over 18 years of experience, he has established himself as one of the region’s most trusted advisors for high-stakes acquisitions, joint ventures, capital markets transactions, and corporate restructurings.
Hegui’s practice is defined by his ability to navigate the most demanding cross-border transactions. He has led landmark deals totalling billions of dollars, advising multinational corporations, private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds, and regional champions on acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, and strategic investments. His clients trust him to guide them through complex regulatory landscapes and multi-jurisdictional deal structures with precision and commercial pragmatism.
Hegui brings particular depth to corporate M&A, capital markets, and employment law. He has participated in major IPOs and private placements, drafting international prospectuses and offering memoranda, and advising on tender offers, stock exchange rules, and disclosure requirements. His experience extends to structuring Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs), shareholder agreements, escrow arrangements, and governance frameworks designed to minimise future disputes and protect client interests.
His ability to secure regulatory approvals efficiently—whether from the Saudi General Authority for Competition, the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority, or other bodies—has accelerated time-to-market for client investments and enabled their regional expansion strategies.
Hegui advises clients across a broad array of sectors, including defence and security, education, energy, financial services, real estate and construction, healthcare, retail and consumer goods, technology, media, transportation, and logistics. This breadth enables him to understand the commercial drivers behind each transaction and deliver pragmatic, business-focused solutions.
Beyond transactional work, Hegui is recognised for his thought leadership and commitment to developing the next generation of legal talent. He has spearheaded client seminars and webinars on M&A trends, capital markets developments, and regulatory reforms across the region. He regularly publishes articles and country-specific practice guides, ensuring clients and the broader market remain informed of evolving legal landscapes.
As a mentor to GLA & Co associates, Hegui fosters a culture of collaboration and excellence, raising the skill level and capacity of the firm’s corporate team to handle increasingly sophisticated mandates.
Hegui is committed to leveraging his expertise for the betterment of society. He has organised webinars to educate small businesses and young entrepreneurs on regulatory and commercial challenges, and has taken on pro bono matters supporting non-profits and individuals in underserved communities in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. He is also instrumental in programmes that support young lawyers from underrepresented backgrounds, promoting diversity and inclusion within the legal profession.
Education
- Bachelor of Law, Faculty of Law Ain Shams University in association with Universite jean Moulin Lyon 3, France
Professional Membership
- Egyptian Bar Association
Recent Experience
Corporate
- Providing clients, whether listed or closed companies, with day-to-day corporate legal advice including general corporate, commercial and employment matters. Also, providing advice in restructuring, mergers, demergers, increases and reductions of capital as well as employee stock option plans.
- Advising on general corporate (incorporation, permitting etc..), commercial (distribution and agency), real estate (sale and purchase and lease agreements).
- Drafting and reviewing various types of agreements including management, shareholding, confidentiality.
- Establishing various types of companies operating in different fields.
- Advising various major international Egyptian and Saudi companies in drafting, negotiating and reviewing joint-venture agreements.
- Drafting and conducting general assemblies and board meetings.
Capital Markets
- One of the lead members that presented the target company, one of the renowned real estate companies/property developers in Egypt, in the mandatory tender offer launched by UAE major investors to acquire up to 90% of the target company with a total amount of approximately EGP 6.4 billion. Assisted in the regulatory process, the due diligence exercise conducted by the offeror and reviewed and negotiated necessary agreements for the completion of the transaction.
- One of the lead members that acted as the Offering Legal Counsel in the listing of the shares of the first E-payment company to be listed and traded on the Egyptian Exchange as well as the secondary offering of 36% stake held by the majority shareholder for the value of USD 275,000,000.
- One of the lead members of the team that acted as the legal Counsel of an Egyptian E-payment company in its capital increase in the form of rights issue subscribed by its shareholders.
Merger & Acquisition
- Lead partner that acted as legal counsel of one of the leading real estate companies/property developers in Egypt, in its acquisition of the total shares of a real estate company (the “Target”). Assisted the client in the following: (i) conducted legal due diligence on the Target, (ii) advised on the structure of the transaction, (iii) drafted and negotiated the Share Purchase Agreement and the Escrow Agreement. Obtained the requisite regulatory approvals necessary for the execution of the transaction including but not limited to the approval issued by the Financial Regulatory Authority on the payment on the purchase price on instalments.
- Acted as one of the lead members in the team that acted as the Egyptian Counsel of one of the multinational food and beverages companies, in its acquisition of approximately 94.7% of an Egyptian major food and beverage company in Egypt S.A.E.
- Acted as one of the lead members in the team that assisted two major companies (the investments arms of a leading governmental Egyptian bank) in the integration and restructuring process of both entities as well as their subsidiaries. The integration process includes the transfer of certain activities and business between both companies; in addition to the transfer of shares of some subsidiaries between both companies and the transfer of business in two Investment Funds.
Employment
- Advising various multinational companies on their employment contracts and relationship with employees.
- Advising companies on labor issues including employees profit distribution.
- Advising on preparation of employment, reviewing policies, code of conducts, end of services and stock option scheme.
- Termination of definite and indefinite employment contracts including negotiation and investigation with employees.
Languages
- Arabic
- English
- French