Clifford Chance advises DP World on US$2.4 billion investment by Hassana in DP World's flagship UAE assets

21 December 2022

Deniz Tas, Omar Rashid, Tariq Imam, Graham Brewer, Stuart Ure, Richard Kalaher, , Simon Corzberg, , Tom Lloyd, James Dadford, Natasha El-Najjar, , Sima Al Baterni, Ahmed Shafiek, , Bola Coker, Alex Shaw, Stavroula Vryna
Dubai, Abu Dhabi, London

Clifford Chance advises DP World on US$2.4 billion investment by Hassana in DP World's flagship UAE assets

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised long standing client DP World (a global infrastructure-led supply chain solutions provider) on the c. US$2.4 billion (SAR9.0 billion) investment in three of its flagship UAE assets by Saudi Arabia-based Hassana Investment Company (the investment manager for the General Organization for Social Insurance, which owns one of the world’s largest pension funds).

Hassana will invest c. US$2.4 billion in a new joint venture with DP World through which Hassana will hold its economic interest in a stake of c. 10.2% in the Jebel Ali Port, Jebel Ali Free Zone and the National Industries Park. This investment is the second tranche of the sale of a strategic minority stake in these UAE assets, following the US$5 billion transaction which successfully closed earlier this year, and implies a total enterprise value of approximately US$23 billion for the three assets.

The Jebel Ali Port, Jebel Ali Free Zone and National Industries Park together comprise a best-in-class group of infrastructure assets, with a solid long-term track record of growth. Combined, they form a world-class integrated ecosystem for the supply and logistics chains of over 9,000 companies from around the world, serving more than 3.5 billion people globally. The three assets generated pro-forma 2021 revenue of US$1.9 billion.

The Clifford Chance team advising DP World was led by M&A partner Deniz Tas, together with support from a core team comprising partner Omar Rashid in Riyadh, as well as senior associates Tom Lloyd and James Dadford and associates Natasha El-Najjar, Tammie Le, Maximiliano Valli, Sima Al-Baterni and Ahmed Shafiek in Dubai.

The team was assisted by various experts from across the Clifford Chance network, including:

Real Estate: Tariq Imam (partner, Dubai) and Shannon Burke (associate, Dubai)
Financing: Graham Brewer (partner, Dubai) and Bola Coker (senior associate, Dubai)
Capital Markets: Stuart Ure (partner, Dubai)
Tax: Richard Kalaher (partner, London), Julian Feiner (director, London), Simon Corzberg (director, London), Alex Shaw (Lawyer, London) and Wanipa Ndhlovu (trainee solicitor, London)
Antitrust: Greg Olsen (partner, London) and Stavroula Vryna (senior associate, London)