Benjamin O'Brien-Mcqueenie
Benjamin is a partner based in Oman and heads up our corporate team. He specialises in equity capital markets, company mergers and acquisitions, corporate structuring and regulatory matters.
He is admitted to practise in England and Wales and advises on a range of international and regional clients investing in or from the Middle East as well as banking institutions, private equity investors and sovereign wealth funds. He has managed transactional matters with a GCC nexus with combined deal values in excess of $5bn.
Third Party Endorsements
Benjamin is recognised as an Associate to Watch in relation to his corporate and finance work in the GCC by Chambers & Partners Global for the last 3 years.
"Benjamin is a great lawyer who is excellent at negotiating both legal and commercial terms"
Chambers 2024
Relevant Key Experience
• Advising the Joint Global Coordinators and Issue Managers as Oman Counsel in relation to an IPO set to take place during Q4 2024
• Advising a prominent entity with respect to its potential IPO in Bahrain, including managing the due diligence process
• Advising ASYAD Group SAOC on a strategic investment across the GCC, Asia and the USA, including due diligence support
• Advising Ominvest in relation to its competing takeover offer of Ahli Bank S.A.O.G. and compliance with the takeover code and their obligations as a listed entity on MSX
• Advising the shareholder of Al Baraka Group in relation to its offer to acquire the remaining shares of the entity and delist from the Bahrain Bourse
• Advising OIFC in relation to its ultimately aborted merger with DDIC, which included advising on compliance with their obligations as a listed entity on MSX
• Advising Gulf Tamin on its offer to acquire shares in Arab Insurance Group B.S.C.
• Managing the acquisition by Al Salam Bank of US$2.2bn of assets and a similar amount of liabilities by way of a business transfer of the retail business of Ithmaar Bank, including two separate due diligence exercises, as well as compliance with the requirements of the Bahrain Bourse with respect to required announcements
• Advising National Bank of Bahrain on its takeover of Bahrain Islamic Bank
• Advising the Bahrain sovereign wealth fund in relation to disposals of stakes in entities listed in Bahrain
• Managing disposals and acquisitions of controller stakes in listed companies both through on market and off market approaches in Bahrain and Oman