BIGNON LEBRAY expands its international offering with the launch of its “Africa Desk”
BIGNON LEBRAY is further expanding its international practice by setting up an “Africa Desk” in order to assist its French and foreign clients with their projects in Africa, and its African clients with their transactions in France.
The firm’s multidisciplinary team, which has experience of OHADA law, intervenes principally in Francophone countries in Africa, but also elsewhere on the continent.
The lawyers working on the “Africa Desk” assist their clients on tax issues, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, public law / relations with governing bodies, project finance / PPP, new technologies, employment law and corporate social responsibility, particularly in the following sectors: Telecommunications, Banking-Finance, Mining, Infrastructure, Energy, Agribusiness and Real Estate.
BIGNON LEBRAY’s “Africa Desk” is able to provide customized services for significant projects, as shown by the following examples of transactions worked on recently:
Ivory Coast
• PPP/Infrastructures: A multidisciplinary team from BIGNON LEBRAY advised HYUNDAI ROTEM, a Korean manufacturer of rolling stock and engineering systems, on the planning, financing, implementation, operation and maintenance of the future subway in Abidjan as part of a consortium with Bouygues and Kéolis.
• PPP / Infrastructures: the firm is advising a subcontrac¬ting group in arbitration proceedings before the International Chamber of Commerce relating to the construction of an airport
Algeria
• Industrial Group: the firm advises and assists ELECTROSTEEL, an In¬dian company (manufacturer of iron pipes), in its development pro¬jects in Algeria.
Morocco
• Real Estate: BIGNON LEBRAY has assisted and advised clients on the acquisition of real estate in Morocco.
Senegal
• Retail Sector: the firm is advising a supermarket group on the establishment of the headquarters of its real estate subsidiary in Senegal as part of an investment project.
The new “Africa Desk” complements the firm’s international offering, which includes the “China Desk” that was set up in 2007, and is used by French and Chinese clients wishing to expand in China, Europe and Africa.
In addition, BIGNON LEBRAY has close links with well-known firms in several African countries. The firm is also a member of the MERITAS international network of lawyers, ranked among the best legal networks in the world, and which includes members located in a number of major African countries.
The team also works with specialists in economics, diplomatic relations, international development and human resources with expertise in Africa in order to enable it to offer multi-disciplinary competencies to its clients and to provide turnkey solutions for their projects.
For further information, please consult our dedicated webpage.
