Transactions · M&A

M&A counsel in Dubai

Buying, selling, investing or exiting — a deal is a machine with many failure points: the structure, the diligence, the SPA, the approvals, the completion mechanics. Neo Legal runs the whole machine, led by Founding Partner Levent Shevki with 17+ years across M&A, financial services and capital raisings.

Buy & sell side
Both chairs, deal after deal
17+ years
Founding Partner-led transactions
Cross-border
UAE · Australia · Asia in-house via Cornwalls
Deal to IPO
Private rounds through to listing

What we do for you

How we run a deal

Structure first — share or asset, decided by diligence, not habit. Diligence as a decision tool — red flags reported with a treatment each: price, indemnity, condition or walk. Documents that match the findings — warranty suites calibrated to what diligence showed, indemnities with real security. Approvals mapped in week one — regulator, competition and registrar timelines set the calendar, so we start them early.

Why Neo Legal for M&A

Boutique speed with institutional depth: partner-led execution from our M&A practice, tax and regulatory answered in-house, cross-border workstreams run through Cornwalls (established 1891) rather than referral chains, and Mandarin-language service for Chinese acquirers through the China Desk.

M&A — frequently asked questions

What does an M&A lawyer actually do on a deal?
Everything between the handshake and the money moving: choosing the structure (share or asset deal), running legal due diligence and turning findings into price or protection, drafting and negotiating the SPA with its warranties, indemnities and any earn-out, mapping and obtaining regulatory and merger approvals, and managing completion. On the sell side, the same machinery run defensively — plus preparing the business so diligence finds nothing that moves the price.
How long does it take to buy or sell a business in the UAE?
A clean SME share deal typically completes in six to ten weeks from term sheet — two to four weeks of due diligence, two to three of documents, then approvals and registration. Asset deals run longer because licences must be issued and employees re-hired. Regulated targets add the sector regulator's change-of-control timeline. See the structure guide.
What should a seller do before going to market?
Fix in private what diligence would find in public: regularise any nominee arrangements, align the licence with the actual business, quantify gratuity, paper related-party dealings at arm's length, move IP into the company, and get VAT and Corporate Tax filed and defensible. Sellers who do this take shorter negotiations, smaller escrows and better prices. See the red flags.
Do you act on private equity and venture deals?
Yes — for founders, funds and family offices: holdco structuring in ADGM, DIFC or Cayman, term sheets, subscription and shareholders' agreements, preference stacks and reserved matters, ESOPs, SAFEs, and the exit when it comes. See PE & VC deal terms in the Gulf.
Can you run a cross-border acquisition?
Yes — cross-border is the practice's core: UAE targets with foreign buyers, UAE buyers acquiring abroad, and multi-jurisdiction groups. As the UAE practice of Cornwalls (established 1891), Australian and international workstreams run in-house, and our China Desk serves Chinese acquirers in Mandarin.
Who leads M&A at Neo Legal?
Levent Shevki, a Founding Partner with 17+ years across M&A, financial services and capital raisings — supported by the firm's regulatory, tax and sector teams so licensing, Corporate Tax and industry approvals are handled inside the deal team. Partner-led means the partner on the pitch is the partner on the documents.

A deal on the table?
Put a deal team behind it.

Structure, diligence, documents, approvals, completion — run end to end by the partner you meet on day one.

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