Sonia Abdul-Rahman

Partner, Dubai

Biography

Overview

Sonia is a partner in the EMEA Corporate and M&A practice. Sonia regularly represents clients on a range of transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, restructurings and other corporate matters.

Sonia won the "Emerging Leader Award" at the M&A Advisor 2023 Awards and was named "Corporate Lawyer of the Year" by LexisNexis Middle East Women in Law Awards 2022.

Sonia joined the Dubai office of White & Case in 2016. Prior to joining White & Case, Sonia worked for a Magic Circle firm in its London and Dubai offices.

Bars and Courts
England and Wales
Education
Accelerated Legal Practice Course
BPP Law School
LLB
London School of Economics and Political Science
Languages
English

Experience

Representative transactions include advising:

  • Mubadala Investment Company on the acquisition of KELIX bio, a leading pharmaceutical group, from the EBRD, British International Investment and Development Partners International.
  • State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) on the acquisition from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) of a 3% participating interest in the Umm Lulu, Satah Al Razboot (SARB), Bin Nasher and Al Bateel offshore concession located in the United Arab Emirates.
  • Magellan Capital, a leading investment holding company, on the acquisition of Danish Ship Finance, a company specialising in the provision of loans for shipping companies, which is owned by The Danish Maritime Fund, Axcel, PFA, and PKA.
  • Saudi Aramco on the acquisition of a 40% stake in Gas & Oil Pakistan Ltd. GO operates a network of retail stations in Pakistan comprising approx. 1,060 sites and was the first of its kind to launch electric vehicle charging stations in Pakistan.
  • SNB Capital (SNBC) on a primary subscription and secondary acquisition in Tamara, a leading buy-now-pay-later business.
  • ZMI Global on the high-profile sale by Hassan El Ali of 100% of the shares of ZMI Global to ADNOC Logistics & Services Company.
  • Saudi Aramco on the US$15.5 billion sale and a lease and leaseback arrangement involving its gas pipeline network with a consortium led by BlackRock Real Assets and Hassana Investment Company, the investment management arm of the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) in Saudi Arabia.
  • Saudi Aramco on its US$12.4 billion sale and a lease and leaseback arrangement involving its oil pipeline network with a consortium led by EIG Global Energy Partners (EIG).
  • United Arab Chemical Carriers, an international shipping company, on its announced merger with United Overseas Group.
  • ADNOC in connection with the sale of a 40% stake in ADNOC Oil Pipelines to a consortium comprising of Blackrock and KKR for US$4 billion.
  • ADNOC in connection with its strategic partnership with Baker Hughes, a GE Company (BHGE:NYSE), in connection with ADNOC's subsidiary, ADNOC Drilling. The transaction also involved BHGE acquiring 5% of ADNOC Drilling for US$550 million.
  • United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), the Dubai-headquartered container shipping business, and its majority shareholders Qatar Holding and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia on its announced multi-billion dollar merger with German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, one of the largest M&A deals ever in the MENA region.
  • Masdar on its acquisition from ib vogt GmbH (ib vogt) of a 50% interest in Infinity 50 for Renewable Energy SAE, an Egyptian company that develops, constructs and operates solar projects under the feed-in-tariff program launched by the Egyptian government.
  • Masdar, the Abu Dhabi-owned energy company, on its joint venture with Infinity Energy, Egypt's leading renewable energy developer, to develop utility-scale and distributed solar energy and wind power projects in Egypt and Africa.
Awards and Recognition

Winner: Emerging Leader Award - The M&A Advisor, 2023

Corporate Lawyer of the Year - LexisNexis Middle East Women in Law Awards 2022