People
Ben Ward
Biography
Ben is META (Middle East, Turkey and Africa) Head of M&A/Corporate.
He has significant experience in a wide range of corporate transactions, including public takeovers, private acquisitions and disposals, joint ventures, strategic investments and growth capital investments.
Ben frequently acts for clients on major complex cross-border deals across a range of sectors and has worked in the London and Dubai offices of A&O Shearman. He is recognized in the Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and IFLR1000 rankings.
Practice areas
- Corporate and M&A
- Joint ventures
- M and A JVs and corporate reorganizations
- Insurance
- Global employment and compensation
Sectors
- Banks
- Private capital
- Insurance
- Sovereign wealth and institutional investors
Selected experience
- A multinational insurance company on its GBP5.6bn acquisition of Friends Life Group.
- Virgin Money on the acquisition of a GBP1.3bn credit card portfolio from MBNA Europe Bank and its related sale of Virgin Money Cards to MBNA for GBP210m.
- A multinational financial institution on the sale of its majority stake in NSGB, its Egyptian bank, to Qatar National Bank for USD2.5bn.
- The Royal Bank of Scotland on the USD17.2bn merger of Alawwal Bank and Saudi British Bank.
- GEMS Education and the Varkey Group on the sale of a minority stake in GEMS MENASA to CVC Capital Partners (one of the largest ever private equity transactions in the Middle East).
- 888 Holdings on its contested GBP3.6bn combination with The Rank Group plc and William Hill plc and its proposed GBP898.3m cash and share offer for bwin.party digital entertainment plc.
- A leading UK consumer business on the GBP700m recapitalisation and restructuring of the business.
- A global financial institution on the separation, or ring-fencing, of its UK retail banking business into a new UK bank.
- Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. on its acquisition of the global aviation insurance business of Jardine Lloyd Thompson plc.
- Saudi International Petrochemical Company on its USD5.9bn merger with Sahara Petrochemicals Company.
Education
- LLB, University of Law, 2005
- BA, University of Cardiff, 2001
Admissions
- Admitted as solicitor, England and Wales, 2007