Profile

Ali is a dual-qualified (New York and England & Wales) corporate lawyer with a strong focus on mergers and acquisitions and venture capital transactions in the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He represents clients across a wide range of technology sectors, including fintech, artificial intelligence and e-commerce, as well as in the financial services and life sciences sectors.

He acts for fund sponsors, family offices and corporate groups on acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and strategic investments. Proficient in both US and UK venture investment frameworks, he advises institutional investors and emerging companies on equity financing rounds, follow-on and bridge investments, secondary transactions, employee incentive arrangements, exits, as well as related structuring and corporate governance mandates across the full business life cycle.

Ali is ranked as a “Rising Star” by IFLR1000. Prior to joining Hourani & Partners, he practiced at Magic Circle and US law firms in London and New York, including Curtis, Linklaters and Debevoise & Plimpton.

Ali received a JD cum laude from Georgetown Law in 2015, where he served as a member of The Tax Lawyer journal. He received a BA cum laude from Northwestern University in 2011.

Expertise
  • Corporate
  • Joint Ventures
  • Mergers & Acquisition
  • Venture Capital
Experience

Ali’s experience includes advising:

Mergers & Acquisitions

  • Carbon Health on its acquisition of Alma Health, a digital healthcare platform for chronic condition management
  • Emicool on its acquisition of Al Reef Cooling, including an exclusive district cooling concession for Al Reef Downtown in Abu Dhabi
  • A consortium of investors led by RRJ Capital, in connection with their $600 million investment in VistaJet, the world’s leading global private aviation group
  • Al Muhaidib Group on its acquisition of a 49% interest in SATS Saudi Arabia, a global leader in gateway services and a leading food solutions provider in Asia
  • Americana, a PIF portfolio company, on its joint venture with Farm Frites
  • Humania Capital on its acquisition of Kaya Middle East, a leading provider of specialized beauty and skincare treatments in the Middle East
  • American Securities and P2 Capital Partners on their $855 million take-private acquisition of Blount International
  • Clayton, Dubilier & Rice on its acquisition of BUT, the largest furniture retailer network in France, including a high yield offering of €380 million

Venture Capital

  • General Catalyst and CIV on the $9 million seed financing round of 1001 AI
  • RZM Investment on the $6 million series A financing round of Baytonia
  • Rilam on the $2 million seed financing round of Seraya
  • Merak Capital with respect to designing template investment documentation for early-stage investments and template operational documentation for its Exel Gaming Accelerator
  • Novus Aviation Capital on its bridge financing round
  • SEEDRA Ventures on several investments in GCC-based startups
  • A KSA giga project on several investments in US-based startups
  • Btomorrow Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of British American Tobacco, on several equity financing rounds of US-based startups

 

Qualifications

Education

  • JD, cum laude, Georgetown University Law Center, USA
  • BA, cum laude, Northwestern University, USA

Admission

  • Law Society of England & Wales, UK
  • New York State Bar Association, USA
  • Dubai Legal Affairs Department, UAE
Languages
  • English
  • Urdu