Joint Ventures
We structure and execute the joint ventures that shape markets — from cross-border consortia to sovereign-sponsor partnerships.
Ventures built to endure — commercially, legally, culturally.
Joint ventures fail on the seams: misaligned economics, unworkable governance, deadlocks with no exit, and regulatory blind spots that surface at the worst moment. Our practice is built to close those seams from the first conversation.
We advise sponsors, listed corporates, state investment vehicles, and international institutions on the joint ventures that define regional markets — combining transactional discipline with in-house regulatory, tax, and disputes capability.
- Sponsor and consortium alignment
- Governance and control architecture
- Cross-border regulatory execution
- Exit, deadlock and dispute resolution
How we approach this practice.
We structure robust joint venture vehicles, drafting shareholders' agreements that clearly define governance rights, capital contribution obligations, and deadlock resolution mechanisms — helping partners align strategic objectives within a legally enforceable framework.
Where alliances end, we manage the delicate exit strategies and dispute mechanisms inherent in complex joint ventures, ensuring deadlocks are resolved in a manner that preserves asset value and operational continuity.
A full-stack joint venture practice.
Contractual, incorporated, and hybrid JV structures engineered around tax, regulation, and control.
Shareholders' agreements, reserved matters, deadlock mechanics, tag/drag, and pre-emption regimes.
Board composition, appointment rights, information rights, and committee structures.
Multi-jurisdictional coordination across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and beyond.
Merger control, sector consents, and foreign investment approvals — sequenced with the timetable.
Buy-outs, put/call structures, unwinds and re-alignments — with disputes-integrated exit strategy.
A disciplined path from concept to close.
- 01Commercial Alignment
We start with the commercial map — economics, control, contributions, and outcome — before drafting a single clause.
- 02Structural Blueprint
A structuring memo sets out the vehicle, jurisdiction, tax treatment, and regulatory path, benchmarked against comparable matters.
- 03Documentation
Bespoke documentation drafted as an integrated instrument set — designed to survive later scrutiny.
- 04Approvals & Closing
Regulator engagement, condition-precedent management, and a disciplined closing choreography.
- 05Stewardship
Ongoing counsel through the life of the matter — governance, calendaring, and dispute-prevention.
Selected joint venture mandates.
A partial view of the mandates we have advised on — sanitised for confidentiality, but indicative of the scale and complexity of our work.
- 01
Advised a Gulf sponsor and a listed Kenyan operator on a USD 340m infrastructure JV, including staged funding and consortium governance.
- 02
Structured a tri-party fintech JV between a regional bank, a mobile operator, and a global technology partner.
- 03
Acted for a state investment vehicle on a hospitality development JV, negotiating deadlock, buy-out, and change-of-control mechanics.
- 04
Represented a pan-African logistics group on the restructuring of a legacy JV, unwinding cross-shareholdings and re-aligning board rights.
Partners leading the practice.
Where this work connects.
Considering a matter? Speak with the partner who will run it.
A confidential, no-obligation conversation with a partner — usually within one business day.