Slaughter and May advisors to M&A deal of the year at IFLR Africa Awards

International law firm Slaughter and May has been awarded for its work on ‘M&A Deal of the Year’ at the IFLR Africa Awards. The awards, which take place annually were this year hosted in South Africa.

The firm was awarded for its work advising Allianz on the completion of its joint venture with Sanlam, the largest non-banking financial services company in Africa, to combine their current and future operations across Africa to form a group worth an estimated 35 billion South African rand (approximately 2 billion euros). The joint venture, which operates under the “Sanlam Allianz” brand, has a presence in 27 countries across the continent. The transaction was strategically important to Allianz to capture greater economies of scale and increase its penetration into the African market.

Slaughter and May led across all aspects of the transaction.

Partner Nick Pacheco, who led on the transaction said, “We are delighted to be recognised for this achievement. This was a really important, strategic transaction for Allianz, and we are delighted to have helped them achieve their aims.”

Partner and head of the firm’s Africa Practice David Watkins added, “Our Africa Practice continues to go from strength to strength, and this is a great example of the kind of complex, multi-jurisdictional work we specialise in, where we utilised our long-built relationships with some of the leading independent firms in Africa, to provide a seamless and coordinated service across so many jurisdictions.”