People
David Foster
Biography
David is Managing Partner of META (Middle East, Turkey and Africa).
He specialises in M&A transactions, including public takeovers, private acquisitions and disposals, joint ventures, strategic investments and venture capital/growth capital investments.
David is recognized in the Hall of Fame in the Legal 500 rankings for the UAE, as a Market Leader in the IFLR1000 rankings for the UAE and is also ranked in Band 1 for Corporate/M&A in the UAE by Chambers & Partners.
David acts for a wide range of clients, including corporates, financial sponsors and government entities, across multiple sectors. He has advised on some of the most complex and high-value M&A transactions in the region (including a number of “market firsts”) and has been based in the UAE since 2008. Clients value David’s breadth and depth of expertise and his ability to “get the deal done”, describing him as commercially astute, a diligent and pragmatic advisor and a go-to figure for market-leading M&A transactions.
Practice areas
- Corporate and M&A
- Joint ventures
- Private equity
- M and A JVs and corporate reorganizations
Sectors
- Energy
- Consumer and retail
- Private equity
- Technology
- Mining and metals
Selected experience
- CYVN Holdings LLC (CYVN), an advanced mobility operator and investment vehicle based in Abu Dhabi, on a strategic partnership with Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company BSC(c) pursuant to which CYVN acquired McLaren’s automotive business and a non-controlling stake in McLaren’s racing business.
- A multinational utility company on the divestment of its power generation and water desalination assets in Bahrain and Kuwait to ACWA Power.
- GEMS Education (GEMS) on the investment into GEMS by a consortium led by Brookfield Asset Management Ltd.
- A consortium led by Fajr Capital on the 65% acquisition of a stake in the ownership of Aster DM Healthcare FZC across the GCC.
- A financial investor on an investment of USD5bn in three of DP World’s flagship UAE assets.
- Infinigate Group AG, a pan-European value-added distributor of cybersecurity solutions and a portfolio company of Bridgepoint, on its merger with StarLink.
- Mubadala on the sale of stakes in Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) to Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).
- 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).
- Investcorp on leading the USD100m Pre-IPO round in TruKKer, the largest digital freight network in the MENA region.
- Prosus, one of the world’s largest global technology investors, as the lead investor on a USD170m Series C fundraising by Foodics.
Education
- LLB, Law with American Law, The University of Nottingham, 2002
- LPC, Nottingham Law School, 2003
Admissions
- Admitted as solicitor, England and Wales, 2006