Ian Gaitta

Ian is a corporate commercial lawyer with over 10 years of practice experience. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions and joint ventures both in the UAE as well as cross-border transactions with a sub-Saharan Africa focus. Ian advises on share and asset acquisitions and disposals and structures and negotiates joint ventures and other commercial transactions. Ian also advises on a variety of commercial arrangements, including banking and finance transactions, distribution, franchise and agency contracts and procurement contracts for goods and services. He also advises developers and owners and buyers of hotels and other hospitality assets on hotel management and franchise arrangements as well as hotel sales and purchases. He has had transactional experience across the East Africa region and in the United Arab Emirates and other Middle East countries.

• Law Society of Kenya

2007: Postgraduate Diploma in Law, Kenya School of Law

2005: LL.B, Bachelor of Laws, University of Nairobi, Kenya 

2020 – Date: Partner, Anjarwalla & Khanna

2015 – 2019: Partner, Anjarwalla Collins & Haidermota, Dubai

2011 – 2014: Senior Principal Associate, Anjarwalla Collins & Haidermota, Dubai

2008 – 2010: Senior Associate, Anjarwalla & Khanna

2007 – 2008: Associate, Kaplan & Stratton Advocates

2006 – 2007: Associate, Anjarwalla & Khanna, Advocates

2005 – 2006: Trainee Associate, Anjarwalla & Khanna, Advocates 

Projects and Infrastructure

• Acting for a consortium led by Kiewa Group in connection with a joint venture with the County Government of Kitui for the redevelopment of the residential houses in Kitui on a PPP basis, including undertaking a regulatory review for the project, conducting due diligence on the titles for the various parcels of land to be used, setting up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the consortium, drafting a shareholders agreement in relation to the SPV and reviewing the joint venture agreement between the SPV and the Nairobi City County, and negotiating and concluding the joint venture agreement and the long term leases for the various project parcels of land.
• Advising Turkana Wind Power, in connection with the development of a 300 MW wind power project in Northern Kenya and EPC arrangements with its contractors.
• Advising Triumph Power Generating Company, in connection with the development and financing of an 81MW thermal power plant in Athi River, Kenya and EPC arrangements with its contractors.
• Advising a project sponsor, in connection with the proposed Public Private Partnership for a railway project in East Africa.
• Advising Berkeley Energy, a renewable energy fund manager in connection with its proposed acquisition of power development assets from Tozzi Renewable Energy in Madagascar.
• Advising certain shareholders of Rift Valley Railways, the previous concessionnaire of the Kenya-Uganda railway, in connection with the shareholders arrangements among the concessionaire consortium and contract arrangements between the consortium and the Kenyan and Ugandan governments.
• Advising MSS Xsabo Power Meydan Group, the developer of a solar power project in Uganda, in connection with its EPC arrangements with a European EPC contractor.
• Advising an international engineering contractor in connnection with its proposed contract arrangement with KenHA (Kenya National Highways Authority) for services in relation to the Northern Roads Project, including advising on public procurement laws.
• Advising a North African project developer in connection with its proposed acquisition of a 40MW renewable energy project in Kenya, including conducting due diligence on the target company and its assets and project approvals.
• Advising The African Legal Support Facility, an initiative of African Development Bank Group, in the preparation of a handbook on public private partnerships in the infrastructure sector.
• Advising Kenya Innovative Facility for Water (KIFFWA), in connection with its proposed development of a community water and agriiculture project in Taita Taveta, Kenya.

Corporate

• Advising Fedha Group, one of Kenya’s leading real estate developers, in connection with the negotiation of hotel management and brand licensing contracts with Minor Hotels for the proposed Avani Nairobi Suites at Westlands, Nairobi, including providing tax structuring advice, and negotiating the hotel management and technical services contracts for the hotel opposite the operator, Minor Hotels Group.
• Advising the Meydan Group, a prominent real estate development group in the Emirate of Dubai, UAE, in connection with the negotiation of its hotel management and related technical services contracts with Corinthia Hotels, for the upcoming Corinthia Meydan Beach Hotel in Dubai, UAE.
• Advising a licensed fund manager established at the Dubai International Financial Centre, United Arab Emirates, in connection with the proposed establishment of a DIFC domiciled closed ended real estate fund, including advising on regulatory aspects and preparing the fund documentation, subscription agreement, limited partnership agreement and private placement memorandum.
• Advising Bloomberg in connection with the marketing and offering of the Bloomberg financial information platform and various related informational products, including advising on telecommunications and capital markets regulatory aspects.
• Advising one of Pakistan’s largest banks in connection with a project involving the transfer of its branchless banking software product into offshore and UAE free zone entities for a joint venture business, including advising on joint venture structuring and freezone options, co-ordinating foreign law advice on offshore holding company structures and advising on tax efficient structuring of the proposed business.
• Advising Deutsche Bank in connection with the proposed offer of its electronic securities and foreign exchange trading platform, including advising on telecommunications and capital markets regulatory aspects.
• Acting for the promoters of Beam-Wallet, one of UAE’s pioneer mobile commerce and rewards platform, in connection with the regulatory aspects of the business, including making arrangements with the payment processing companies and preparing standard form user and merchant contracts.
• Advising Fedha Group, a well established real estate developer and operator in Kenya, in connection with the structuring and negotiation of hotel management contracts with Minor Hotels (operators of the Anantara and Avani brands of hotels) for a serviced residences complex in Westlands, Nairobi, to be known as “Avani Suites Nairobi”.
• Advising the Sankara Hotel Group, owner/operators of the Sankara Hotel, Nairobi, in connection with its hotel franchise arrangements with Marriott International for addition of the Sankara Hotel into Marriott’s Autograph Collection, including advising on and negotiating the hotel franchise and ancillary contracts and coordinating tax advice for the hotel owner.
• Advising a Nairobi based real estate developer in connection with its proposed hotel development in the diplomatic district of Nairobi, Kenya, including advising on and negotiating hotel management contracts with Marriott International.
• Advising Simba Corporation, a Kenyan conglomerate, in connection with the negotiation of its hotel management arrangements with Kempinski International for the operation and management of the Villa Rosa Kempinski Hotel, Nairobi and Olare Mara Camp in the Maasai Mara, Kenya.
• Advising CityBlue Hotels, an operator of midscale hotels in East Africa, in connection with various hotel management and hotel lease arrangements around East Africa, including drafting and negotiating various hotel managemetn contracts.
• Advising an international VSAT services provider in connection with its proposed long-term lease of satellite bandwith capacity from YAHSAT, an Abu Dhabi based satellite telecommunications company, including reviewing and negotiating a high value long term bandwith capacity purchase agreement.
• Advising COMZAfrica, a UAE and Africa based provider of innovative loyalty solutions for mobile networks in Africa, Asia and other frontier markets, in connection with various aspects of its establishment and operations in the UAE.
• Advising a large UAE based retail group and foreign investors in connection with their joint venture for the establishment of a mobile air time and mobile accessories distribution business in the UAE, including advising on regulatory aspects, joint venture structuring and off-shore shareholding arrangements for the foreign shareholders’ investments.
• Advising various clients in connection with retail franchise and agency arrangements in the UAE, including on UAE agency law restrictions applicable to non-UAE nationals and companies controlled by non-UAE nationals.
• Advising various international banks in connection with trade financing arrangements involving UAE companies, including advising on the creation and enforcement of security over UAE companies and UAE assets and rendering UAE legal opinions in connection with these financing transactions.
• Advising an international bank in connection with the financing of an Asian low cost airline, including establishing security over 8 Boeing passenger aircraft and advising on UAE security arrangements as well as security perfection arrangements over the aircraft under the Cape Town Convention.
• Advising Vodafone in connection with the UAE aspects of the acquisition by Verizon Communications of Vodafone Group’s 45% indirect interest in Verizon Wireless, including advising on various UAE federal and DIFC securities laws aspects.
• Advising Standard Chartered Private Equity and the Carlyle Group in connection with their investments into an African soft commodity trading group with interests in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, India and the Far East, including conducting due diligence on the UAE subsidiary in connection with the investment and advising on UAE law aspects of the transaction.