bowman gilfillan: an african law firm with experience

Differences in law, regulation and business culture can significantly increase the risk and complexity of doing business in Africa. Our aim is to assist our clients in achieving their objectives as smoothly and efficiently as possible whilst minimising legal and regulatory risks.

Whilst reliable technical legal advice is always very important, the ability to deliver advice in a coherent, relevant way, combined with transaction management, structuring, negotiating and drafting skills is essential to the supply of high-quality legal services.

At Bowman Gilfillan we have harnessed our skills, experience and relationships in order to provide legal services to international standards to the benefit of our clients in Africa.

why choose bowman gilfillan?

• We are an African law firm - Our head office and the vast majority of our lawyers are located in Africa.
• Our experience in Africa – We have extensive experience from working throughout the continent.
• Our broad range of expertise – We can provide resources and advice on an extensive range of corporate and financial transactions, including M&A, project finance and infrastructure development, trade and export credit, privatisations, PPP, syndicated loans, anti-trust, debt and equity capital markets, private equity, oil and gas and mining.
• Our assistance in other areas – We offer advice on tax, employment and white collar crime.
• Our team – We have a team dedicated to providing cost effective, value-added advice on transactions in Africa.

our experience

Bowman Gilfillan has offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town and London. Our associate firm, Coulson Harney, is based in Nairobi. We are members of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent African law firms, with members in Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Senegal and Tunisia. We work with leading law firms in other countries in Africa, with whom we have developed close working relationships over the years.

We have carried out assignments in the following countries:

Bowman Gilfillan is one of the largest corporate law firms in South Africa with over 105 partners. The firm operates from offices in Sandton in Johannesburg, St George’s Mall in Cape Town and London. Bowman Gilfillan is widely respected and recognised for its professionalism and for providing high-quality legal services. It is generally regarded as one of the premier law firms in South Africa.

Bowman Gilfillan's practice is continuously exposed to and has kept pace with international legal developments and with the standards of leading law firms practising in London, New York and other international financial and commercial centres.

The firm has achieved this by, among other things, sending a number of its junior professionals on secondment with international law firms. Our London office serves as our international gateway.

Bowman Gilfillan's strengths lie in the breadth and quality of its professional staff and its emphasis on the quality of the legal services it renders, together with the diversity of its professional staff. We prefer to take time and make great efforts to ensure the delivery of quality and commercially sound advice.

principal areas of practice

• Africa Group
• Banking, Insurance and Financial Services
• Bankruptcy and Restructuring
• Benefits (Pensions, Medical and Incentive Schemes)
• Broadcasting and Electronic Communications
• Capital Markets and Securities
• Commercial Property
• Competition (Anti-trust), International Trade and Lobbying
• Construction and Engineering
• Corporate
• Dispute Resolution
• Employment
• Energy
• Environment, Natural Resources & Climate Change
• Forensics, White Collar Crime
• Intellectual Property
• Maritime and Transport
• Media & Entertainment
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Mining
• Oil & Gas
• Pharmaceutical and Healthcare
• Project Finance, Infrastructure Development and Public/Private Partnerships
• Public and Regulatory
• Real Estate and Conveyancing
• Sport
• Tax

african projects and transactions

• Advised Standard Bank on the acquisition of a majority interest in listed Nigerian bank IBTC Chartered Bank.
• Advised Metorex Limited (listed London and JSE) on raising funding for a significant new mining investment in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Co-ordinated due diligence in South Africa, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic on behalf of a US private equity fund investing in a diamond exploration venture.
• Currently advising Botswana Telecommunications Corporation on its privatisation.
• Advised the Industrial Development Corporation on the provision of finance for a project in Gabon.
• Advised a leading South African financial services company on the law and regulation relating to trading securities in Nigeria, Zambia, Mauritius, Egypt and Kenya.
• Advised Copperbelt Energy Corporation on the second cross-border electricity interconnector between the DRC and Zambia.
• Co-ordinated due diligence in Ghana, Tunisia, Togo, Guinea, Benin and Liberia on behalf of a multinational security group.
• Represented Econet Wireless Group on its bid to acquire a controlling interest in Vee Mobile, the Nigerian mobile telecoms network.
• Advised Standard Bank on its sub-participation arrangements in respect of the financing of MTN Nigeria and export credit agency support arrangements.
• Our white collar crime unit carried out a forensic investigation on behalf of an NGO into an alleged employee fraud in Senegal.
• Advised the Public Enterprises Evaluation and Privatisation.
• Advised the Agency of Botswana on the privatisation of Air Botswana.
• Advised Standard Bank on the acquisition of a majority stake in CFC Bank, Kenya
• Represented Pretoria Portland Cement Company Limited on the acquisition of Portland Holdings Limited (listed in Harare) in Zimbabwe.
• Advised Barclays Bank PLC on various matters in African countries where it has branches or subsidiaries.
• Advising a large multinational pharmaceuticals company on its distribution agreements in various countries in Africa including Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda.
• Advised a multinational telecoms equipment supplier on a tender in Namibia.
• Co-ordinated due diligence on mining assets in Mozambique and Rwanda.
• Advised the sponsors and project company (Gigajoule South Africa and Matola Gas Company) on the project financing for construction of a gas pipeline from Ressano.
• Advised Standard Bank in respect of its export credit agency support arrangements for the financing of Kansanshi Copper Mine Project in Zambia, as well as the establishment of their sub-participation agreements with several banks.
• Advised the Industrial Development Corporation in its provision of an Export Credit Insurance backed facility to a borrower for a project in central Africa.
• Advised financiers (which included Standard Bank, the Industrial Development Corporation, Development Bank SA, Mauritius Commercial Bank and four syndicated Mozambican Banks) for the financing of a project to resurrect the sugar industry of Marromeu in the Zambezi Valley in Mozambique.
• Advised Standard Bank on the establishment of Standard Bank de Angola.
• Advised Silverbird Africa Holdings on the acquisition of Nu-Metro Cinemas Kenya from Avusa (Coulson Harney).
• Advised Credit Suisse as international distribution agents for Celtel Zambia’s IPO.
• Advising Standard Bank on its Africa brand registration policy.
• Advised NIC Bank on the acquisition of Savings & Finance Bank in Tanzania (Coulson Harney).
• Advised Sasol on its onshore drilling programme in Mozambique.
• Advised World Business Capital in relation to the funding of Blue Financial Services for the expansion of its business in Africa.
• Appointed to advise Bacardi on its sub-Saharan IP work.
• Advised Equity Bank on its cross-listing on the Uganda Stock Exchange (Coulson Harney)
• Advising Standard Bank and RMB on the financing of a beverage plant in Angola
• Advised IBM on tax and legal survey of 12 African jurisdictions
• Conducted mutual-gain negotiation-skills workshop for Exxon Mobil joint union management negotiating team in Nigeria
• Advised Rio Tinto on its SADC registration programme
• Advising Matola on the refinancing of the Ressano Garcia – Maputo gas pipeline in Mozambique
• Advised Verizon on services agreements in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Seychelles and Cameroon
• Advised Tamimi on the acquisition of Giraffe Manor in Kenya (Coulson Harney)
• Advised SAB Miller on operations in Kenya and Tanzania
• Conducted several cross-border anti-piracy raids in Africa
• Filed first ever International Trademark Registration directly by an SA firm, covering eight African countries
• Advised Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund on its investment in Seawolf, an oilfield services company in Nigeria

in association with Coulson Harney

In 2008 Bowman Gilfillan took its first step in developing a Pan-African network by entering into association with Coulson Harney in Nairobi, Kenya.

Coulson Harney was established as a corporate and commercial law firm by two experienced and well-known Kenyan Advocates, Richard Harney and Philip Coulson, both of whom are also admitted as English Solicitors. Coulson Harney provides legal advisory and transaction-support services in Kenya and on crossborder transactions around Africa. They have vast experience of working in Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and in numerous other countries. The firm’s principal areas of practice are:

• Joint ventures and business formation
• Banking, insurance and transaction financing
• Due diligence and forensic investigations
• Privatisation transactions
• Telecommunications law
• Equity and debt capital markets regulatory and transaction advisory
• Mergers and acquisitions in all sectors
• Employment law and work benefits
• Tax
• Real estate and conveyancing
• Conservation and environmental law
• Intellectual property protection
• Regulatory advice in telecommunications, banking, insurance and capital markets

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