Azeezah Muse-Sadiq

Practice Areas

•Capital markets: Debt & Equity

•Taxation

•Corporate restructuring

•Islamic finance

•Mergers & Acquisition

•Competition & Consumer Protection

•Legal Advisory, Company Secretarial & Regulatory Compliance

Career

Azeezah is ingenious, brilliant and possesses strong analytical skills. She is a part of the firm's corporate finance group, and has worked on several capital markets transactions, mergers and acquisitions as well as corporate restructuring transactions. Her other areas of expertise include: taxation, consumer protection and competition.

Azeezah has advised on numerous domestic and international capital market transactions, has led various transaction teams on a number of ‘first of their kind’ transactions in the Nigerian Capital Market and advised on numerous acquisitions, restructuring and divestment transactions. Some of her recent transactional experience include:

(a)Led the team that advised UAC of Nigeria PLC, in relation to its divestment of 9,465,584,668 shares in UACN Property Development Company PLC to Custodian Investment PLC which transaction also entailed securing the approval of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

(b)Co-led the team that advised in the merger between Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC and Savannah Sugar Limited

(c)Co-led the team that advised UACN Property Development Company PLC in the unbundling of its interest in the UPDC REIT to all of its shareholders pursuant to a scheme of arrangement incorporating a reduction in capital

(d)Co-led the team that advised Dangote Cement PLC in relation the establishment of its share buyback programme and the acquisition of the first tranche of 40,200,000 shares under the Programme. This was the first of its kind transaction in the Nigerian capital market

(e)Led the team that advised Fidelity Bank PLC in relation to the establishment of a N100,000,000,000 (One Hundred Billion) bond issuance programme and the issuance of Series 1 Bonds thereunder. The team also advised on the redemption of the outstanding bonds previously issued by the Bank which was a preliminary step required prior to the series 1 issuance.

(f)Led the team that advised the Debt Management Office and the Federal Government of Nigeria in connection with its debut, sophomore and subsequent issuances of N100 billion, N150 billion and N150 billion Sukuk, respectively, in the domestic capital market. This transaction involved the preparation of transaction documents including a construction and service agency agreement; as well as the procurement of specific waivers from income tax in relation to the Sukuk. The proceeds of the issuance are to be applied towards the development and rehabilitation of roads in the 6 geo-political zones in Nigeria.

(g)Advised African Development Bank in relation to its investment in the Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

Azeezah participates in some of the reforms of the Nigerian Capital Market and Mergers and Acquisition and was a member of the committee responsible for drafting the Rules and Regulation for E-Public Offers in Nigeria.

Professional Memberships

Nigerian Bar Association

Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria

Chartered Institute of Investments and Securities UK

Publications

Getting The Deal Through: Acquisition Finance 2020

International Comparative Legal Guide to Consumer Protection 2020 (1st edition)

Chambers Global Practice Guides Fintech 2020

Personal

Azeezah is happily married and is a mother to two sons. In her spare time, Azeezah enjoys cooking and planning events.

Clients

Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC, Unilever Nigeria PLC, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc, UACN Property Development Company Plc, Mecure Industries Limited, Mecure Healthcare Limited, Dangote Cement PLC, Seven-Up Bottling Company Limited, Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited, Portland Paints and Products PLC, Chemical and Allied Paints PLC

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Nigeria

Industry Sector Expertise

Manufacturing, Banking, Health, Fast Moving Consumer Goods

Languages Spoken

English

Education