Benjamin O'Brien-Mcqueenie
Benjamin is a partner and head of corporate based in Bahrain specialising in capital markets, company mergers and acquisitions, corporate structuring and regulatory matters.
He has acted on a number of high profile transactions in Oman and the wider GCC region and was previously based in our Bahrain office for many years. He advises a range of international and regional clients investing in or from the Middle East as well as banking institutions, private equity investors and sovereign wealth funds. Benjamin has assisted clients in the structuring of funds involving GCC assets and investors, as well as drafting the underlying documentation.
In addition, he advises clients in relation to digital services and data protection matters.
Benjamin is recognised as an Associate to Watch in relation to his corporate and finance work by Chambers & Partners Global.
Third Party Endorsements
Benjamin is recognised as an Associate to Watch in relation to his corporate and finance work by Chambers & Partners Global for the years 2022 and 2023.
Relevant Key Experience
• Advising a consortium of investors led by Ominvest and Arab Bank in relation to their competing takeover offer for Ahli Bank SAOG.
• Advising a prominent listed Oman entity in respect of an offer to merge by consolidation by another prominent listed entity in Oman.
• Advising Al Salam Bank in relation to its acquisition of US$2.2bn of assets and a similar amount of liabilities by way of a business transfer of the retail business of Ithmaar Bank.
• Advising a prominent listed entity in Oman in relation to a number of acquisitions or investments in technology-focused entities based in Oman.
• Advising a proptech company headquartered in Abu Dhabi in relation to its Series A investment from a group of investors from Saudi Arabia, and restructuring its subsidiaries in Bahrain, India and Kuwait.
• Advising in relation to the creation of MEC Ventures Fund, the first Investment Limited Partnership in Bahrain.
• Advising in relation to a $2bn Bahrain sovereign equities fund as a Bahrain PIU for a sovereign asset manager.
• Advising a bidder for the retail banking, credit card, unsecured lending and wealth management business in Bahrain of Citibank N.A. structured as a competitive bid process.