Slaughter and May awarded M&A Deal of the Year and Africa M&A Team of the Year at IFLR Africa Awards 2025

International law firm Slaughter and May has been recognised for the second year running for its market-leading work in Africa, winning both ‘M&A Deal of the Year’ and ‘Africa M&A Team of the Year’ at the IFLR Africa Awards 2025. The awards, which celebrate excellence in legal innovation and cross-border transactions, were hosted this year in South Africa. The firm received these accolades from a total of four nominations, underscoring its strength across the continent.

The firm was awarded ‘M&A Deal of the Year’ for its role advising AngloGold Ashanti on its recommended acquisition of Centamin, a transaction which valued Centamin at approximately £1.9 billion. AngloGold Ashanti, a global gold mining company with operations across four continents, is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with primary and secondary listings on multiple stock exchanges: New York, Johannesburg, A2X, and Ghana. Centamin, an established gold producer with listings in London and Toronto, owns and operates Sukari, Egypt’s largest modern gold mine and one of the world’s leading gold-producing assets. Slaughter and May led across all aspects of the transaction, demonstrating its deep expertise in complex, multi-jurisdictional M&A transactions.

The firm also received a second nomination for ‘M&A Deal of the Year’ for its role advising Diageo plc on the sale of its 58.02% shareholding in Guinness Nigeria plc to Tolaram, alongside new long-term licence and royalty agreements with Guinness Nigeria.

David Watkins, Chair of the firm’s Africa Practice Group, commented: “We are delighted to receive this recognition for the second consecutive year, which highlights the depth of our expertise in Africa-related transactions. These awards reflect our ability to guide clients through highly complex, multi-jurisdictional matters, leveraging our longstanding relationships with the very best independent firms across the continent to provide seamless, high-quality advice.”