Ayman A. Khaleq

Ayman counsels international clients on doing business in the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in such sectors as healthcare, infrastructure, TMT, energy, sports, and education. He also advises on policy reform initiatives, privatizations, and restructuring in the MENA region and other emerging markets.

Ayman, who is fluent in Arabic and English, is a frequent speaker at international conferences on topics relating to foreign direct investment, investment management, and structured transactions (including Islamic finance). In addition, Ayman taught on transactional Islamic law and international investment law at George Washington University Law School (Washington, DC); Bocconi University (Milan, Italy), and Sorbonne University (Abu Dhabi, UAE). He is also serving on the firm’s Advisory Board, is a member of the International Bar Association’s Legal Practice Division, as well as a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO). Ayman is the leader of the firm’s Middle Eastern North African Lawyer Network.

Note: This list includes engagements completed prior to joining Morgan Lewis.

Investment Funds and Private Placements

• Represented a number of institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in connection with investments into global private equity, real estate, and alternative investment funds, as well as on direct investments and co-investments in technology, infrastructure, and healthcare companies and opportunities
• Acted and currently acting for a number of global asset managers (particularly from the United States and European Union) in connection with the structuring and documentation of private placement vehicles (including Shari’a-compliant feeder, co-investment and parallel vehicles and funds) aimed at attracting investments from investors in the GCC and broader MENA region. Indicative sectors include: technology, real estate, infrastructure, and industrial, among others
• Acted and currently acting for a number of leading alternative investment managers in the MENA region in connection with the structuring and documentation of closed-ended private equity and venture capital, both general as well as sector specific, such as in healthcare, technology, and renewable energy; credit, including mezzanine; and real estate funds
• Acted and currently acting for Shari’a-complaint asset managers on the structuring, documentation, and ongoing administration of private placement vehicles that invest in US real estate, including in the commercial, residential, senior living, industrial, and infrastructure sectors
• Acted for NBK Capital Partners, a leading, regional alternative fund manager, on the structuring and documentation of regional mezzanine, real estate and leasing funds
• Acted for Saudi Telecommunications Company in connection with the structuring and documentation of a Bahrain-domiciled regional venture capital fund managed by Iris Capital
• Acted for TVM Capital Healthcare Partners on the structuring, documentation, investment, and ongoing compliance issues relating to regional healthcare funds investment vehicles and funds
• Represented a leading bank in Saudi Arabia in connection with the structuring, documentation, and ongoing administration of a number of asset management products, including funds with assets under management of over $6 billion.

Debt Capital Markets and Structured Transactions

• Advising the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC), Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), and Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on developing “Sustainable Sukuk Standards” with support from Climate Bond Initiative (CBI)
• Acted for the FWU Group, a German financial services firm, in connection with a $100 million “Sukuk Al-Wakala” program backed by unit-linked insurance policies written by Atlanticlux Lebensversicherung S.A., Luxembourg – a BBB’-rated multinational insurance provider; named European Deal of the Year by Islamic Finance News
• Acted for a Luxembourg-based multinational insurance provider in connection with an issuance, through a Guernsey regulated reinsurance vehicle, of over $67 million insurance linked covered notes privately placed with a US private equity group
• Acted for a UAE-based financial arranger in connection with the structuring and documentation of $100 million privately-placed Sukuk for a Saudi Arabia-based real estate developer
• Acted for Al Madina Investment in connection with a $130 million issuance of a privately placed Sukuk Al-Ijara to fund a sale-leaseback transaction with respect to a prime real estate asset in Oman. The Sukuk issuance was the first of its kind in Oman and is being undertaken on the back of the new Sukuk legislation that is currently being developed in Oman
• Acted for the FWU Group, in connection with a $55 million Sukuk Al-Ijara to fund its Takaful operations. This is the first Sukuk by a German corporate and the first to utilize intellectual property rights as the underlying asset; named European Deal of the Year and Ijara Deal of the Year by Islamic Finance News
• Acted for Turkish and Austrian telecommunications companies in connection with large syndicated term and guarantee facilities by the European Investment Bank, as well as banking institutions from the European Union and Japan
• Acted for a Bahrain-based financial arranger in connection with a series of privately-placed Sukuk issuances and corporate finance instruments to fund corporations and project developments in Bahrain, Kuwait, and UAE
• Acted for regional and global financial arrangers and corporates in connection with the first Islamic bond issuances out of the United States, Luxembourg, and Oman, as well as the first Islamic private bond issuance out of Germany
• Acted for two Middle Eastern credit and mezzanine funds in connection with investments in companies in the energy, healthcare, and education sectors

Restructuring

• Co-led the team representing a Kuwaiti investment company, in connection with the Shari'a-compliant restructuring of its $3.5 billion debt
• Co-led the team representing a regional telecommunications investment company in connection with strategic debt restructuring solutions, including a debt-equity swap arrangement
• Led the team representing a syndicate of lenders on the $800 million restructuring of a leading international developer and operator of destination resorts, casinos, and luxury hotels
• Led the team representing creditors in connection with the ongoing restructuring of the obligations of a Kuwaiti real estate company arising under the $200 million Sukuk Al-Musharaka
• Led the team representing creditors in connection with the ongoing restructuring of the obligations of a UAE-based family office arising under the $100 million Sukuk Al-Musharaka