A&O Shearman has advised e& enterprise, the digital arm of UAE telecoms group e&, on its acquisition of GlassHouse, a Turkey-based cloud services provider.
Abu Dhabi-headquartered e&, formerly Etisalat, aims to scale the digital arm, strengthen its capabilities, and expand its global footprint.
The deal has an enterprise value of $60 million, according to an ADX disclosure, and will be carried out through debt financing on a cash free, debt free basis.
It will enable e& enterprise to tap into Turkish IT and cloud services, following the company’s expansion to Egypt in 2023 and Saudi Arabia in 2019.
The transaction follows on from e& enterprise’s acquisition of a majority stake in Beehive, a peer-to-peer lending platform in May 2023, which legacy Allen & Overy also advised on.
A cross-border team of 14 lawyers, including five partners, advised on the deal.
Ben Ward, partner and META (Middle East, Turkey and Africa) head of M&A/corporate, who led the A&O Shearman team, said: “We are delighted to have worked with the e& enterprise team again, supporting them on this strategic acquisition which underlines their ambition to enter high-growth markets.”
Abu Dhabi partner Tom Butcher also advised on the deal alongside partners Caner Elmas (Istanbul), Lydia Challen (London), and Hugh Hollman (Washington DC).
Last week the firm announced it advised Drake & Scull International on its AED 4 billion debt restructuring, marking the first major restructuring under the UAE’s new bankruptcy law.
A&O Shearman is the third largest integrated law firm in the world following a merger between UK ‘Magic Circle’ law firm Allen & Overy and US law firm Shearman & Sterling, which went live on May 1.
