About
Afraz is a dual-qualified transactional lawyer with well over a decade of experience in the UAE, advising regional and international clients on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, shareholder arrangements, corporate structuring and governance.
His clients include family offices, private capital investors, developers, government-linked entities and listed corporates. He has particular experience of sell-side M&A transactions having acted for sellers on many of the landmark transactions in the UAE, and also large-scale joint ventures and shareholder arrangements, having acted on multi-billion dirham joint venture platforms involving leading UAE developers and government-linked entities.
Afraz is qualified in both England and Wales and India, having trained at AZB & Partners in Mumbai, and maintains direct working relationships with leading Indian law firms. He is regularly instructed on transactions along the India–GCC corridor, acting for Indian corporates and investors entering the Gulf and for GCC clients investing into South Asia.
He also advises on renewable energy and energy transition transactions, having established that offering in the region at his previous firm.
In between private practice roles in the UAE, Afraz was Head of Legal and Compliance at a portfolio company of the Investment Corporation of Dubai, with responsibility for acquisitions and operations across more than 40 jurisdictions.
Afraz has been recognised as a Stand-out Lawyer by Thomson Reuters from 2024 to 2026.
Experience
- Advising as lead UAE counsel to the consortium of financial investors on the acquisition of Petrofac Emirates, Petrofac's UAE engineering and construction business, as part of the wider restructuring of the Petrofac group
- Advising Select Investments on the sale of GymNation, one of the UAE's leading fitness operators, to JD Sports plc
- Advising Simpson Spence Young on the UAE aspects of its acquisition of F3 Offshore Group
- Advising on several multi-billion dirham joint venture platforms between leading UAE developers, covering structuring, shareholder arrangements and governance
- Advising on joint venture and development arrangements involving UAE government-linked entities and authorities
- Advising on a cross-border acquisition in the healthcare sector with a transaction value in excess of USD 1 billio
- Advising Indian corporates and investors on GCC market entry, structuring and acquisitions, and GCC clients on investments into India
- Advising on the sale of shares in a regional technology services business to a listed regional acquirer
- Acting as seconded in-house counsel (leading the Middle East legal team) at Vitol, a global commodities trading group
- Advising on renewable energy and clean technology transactions across the GCC
