GLA & Co is pleased to announce that it acted as GCC counsel to Silver Lake in its successful completion of a voluntary public tender offer of Germany’s Software AG.  Specifically, GLA & Co, working with international counsel, secured merger control clearance from the Kuwait Competition Protection Agency on behalf of Silver Lake with respect to its acquisition of an 85.1% stake in Software AG.  Software AG shareholders will now receive the offer price of EUR 32.00 in return for each tendered share of Software AG.   

The merger control clearance in Kuwait was obtained within two months from the submission of the economic concentration application. The transaction was led by Dr. Julian Awwad (Legal Director), with assistance from Asad Ahmad (Senior Associate), Fahad Al Baijan (Associate), and Khaled Al Makhezeem (Associate).

Silver Lake is an American global private equity firm focused on investments in technology, technology-enabled and related industries. Founded in 1999, the firm is one of the largest technology investors in the world. Silver Lake is headquartered in Silicon Valley, and has offices in New York, London and Hong Kong. Software AG is a German multinational software corporation that develops enterprise software for business process management, integration, and big data analytics. Founded in 1969, the company is headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany, and has offices worldwide.  With over 10,000 enterprise customers in over 70 countries, it is the second largest software vendor in Germany, and the seventh largest in Europe.

Alex Saleh, Managing Partner of GLA & Co, stated that “regardless of where the global mergers and acquisitions are taking place, we have seen that the international community is increasingly coming to GLA & Co with respect to any MENA and GCC aspects of the deal.  We have been able to earn the trust of our partners and colleagues across the world in such a short time.”

Nader Al Awadhi, Senior Partner, added that “the firm has been actively engaged on the topic of merger control, from holding various webinars to publishing many articles, including contributing to the Chambers and Partners Global Practice Guide of Merger Control for Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. “

GLA& Company is a full-service, regional law firm in the GCC providing strategic, cost-effective, and forward-thinking legal representation for companies seeking to do business in the Middle East.  With extensive experience advising clients in the key GCC states of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and UAE – as well as Egypt and Lebanon – the firm offers unique insights for companies seeking quality legal services. 

More information on the deal can be found here.