Clyde & Co advises Mitsubishi Corporation & MEFIC Capital

Clyde & Co has advised Mitsubishi Corporation on its acquisition of a minority stake in Al Islami Foods, the UAE-based halal food manufacturer and one of the leading frozen food companies in the GCC market.

This investment by Mitsubishi Corporation will assist Al Islami Foods to grow in the HORECA (hotel, restaurant and catering) and food service space within the GCC region. It will also allow Al Islami to capitalise on Mitsubishi’s international distribution expertise in key markets, particularly in Asia. Al Islami Foods is a subsidiary of Dubai Cooperative Society.

Clyde & Co advised Mitsubishi on all aspects of the acquisition, including drafting and negotiating the transaction documents and corporate structuring issues. The transaction illustrates the ever growing appetite for international players to invest in the Middle East region.

The Clyde & Co team was led by corporate partner and chairman of Clyde & Co’s MENA Management Board Jonathan Silver and corporate partner Stephen McKenna with lead support from senior associate Rob Barrett. The transaction also drew on the resources of our regionally-based Real Estate, Employment and IP teams.

The firm also advised advised MEFIC Capital on the launch of its SAR 1.23 billion Real Estate Investment Traded Fund “MEFIC REIT” (the Fund) in Saudi Arabia. MEFIC Capital plans to list SAR 879.5 million of the Fund’s units on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) this month, which will make it the REIT with the largest public offering in Saudi Arabia.

Clyde & Co’s dedicated corporate team supported MEFIC Capital throughout the course of the Fund set-up, including advising on the legal structuring, contracts and other considerations to ensure the Fund’s compliance with the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) regulations and applied laws in Saudi Arabia.

The Fund will provide investors access to the Saudi and UAE real estate market through eight properties and will be open to Saudi citizens or companies with a Saudi presence exclusively. The Fund will offer the lowest management fees in the market (0.35 per cent) and a guaranteed minimum two per cent annual return when the fund doesn’t meet the five per cent investment threshold, becoming the first listed real estate fund with a guaranteed return in Saudi Arabia.

The Clyde & Co team in Riyadh was led by Alain Sfeir, who was assisted by Saud Alsaab (Legal Director – Insurance), Hamad Al Muslem (Associate – Corporate) and Shahd Makhafah (Junior Associate – Corporate).