Waleed is a highly regarded corporate lawyer, with deep experience of corporate and M&A transactions in the Middle East. He heads the firm’s Corporate practice in Saudi Arabia, dividing his time between Riyadh and Dubai.

Waleed has led on some of the largest M&A transactions in the Saudi Arabia. He advises on a range of public and private transactions, with a particular focus on the energy and infrastructure sectors. He works closely with the firm’s energy and infrastructure lawyers on many deals. Waleed’s clients include large institutions in the Kingdom, as well as multinational companies with operations or investments in Saudi Arabia. He is also well positioned to advise on prospective privatisations in the Kingdom.

Waleed is a keen advocate of deploying innovative technologies in the delivery of legal services, including the use of AI software in due diligence matters, eBibling and Linklaters’ proprietorial CreateIQ, a digital contract automation and negotiation platform that captures structured data from legal documents at source.

Waleed was based in the firm’s London office between 2009 and March 2018, when he moved to Dubai. He spent nine months in 2016 on secondment to Hutchison 3G (Three) in London, supporting the in-house legal team on a range of commercial contracts and the proposed acquisition of O2.

Before qualifying as a lawyer, Waleed was a programmer in Silicon Valley and a banker and a journalist in the Middle East.

Work highlights

Waleed has led on many market-leading transactions, including advising:

• Al Rajhi Holding and other shareholders on the sale of shares in ACWA Power to the Public Investment Fund and others
• SABIC Agri-Nutrients Company on the acquisition of the agricultural nutrients businesses of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) in exchange for shares listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul)
• Saudi Investment Recycling Company, a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund, on the acquisition of Global Environmental Waste Management Services
• Linde on the establishment of an industrial gases joint venture in Saudi Arabia with Sipchem
• Advanced Petrochemical on a joint venture with SK Gas to build and operate a US$1.8bn propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene plants in Jubail
• Ahli United Bank on the proposed acquisition of Ahli United Bank by Kuwait Finance House, the largest cross-border public takeover in the GCC and the first ever cross-border public takeover involving a share issuance in the GCC