Firms advise PE duo on UAE stake

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison have advised private equity firms Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic on the purchase of a 49 percent stake in payments processor Network International from the UAE’s Abraaj Group.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher counseled Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank, which holds a 51 percent stake in Network International.The investment is a rare example of Western private equity capital being injected into the Middle East, with Warburg and General Atlantic attracted by the gradual transition from cash to electronic transactions in the Middle East and Africa.

The Freshfields team was led by partners Pervez Akhtar and Patrick Ko, while Dubai partner Hardeep Plahe led the Gibson Dunn team.