Taylor Wessing Middle East has advised leading regional media business, Mediaquest, on its acquisition of the AME Info and SME Info websites, two of the leading business outlets for news and information in the Middle East and North Africa region from AME Info FZ-LLC, owned by Top Right Group.

The Taylor Wessing Middle East team was led by recently arrived corporate finance partner, Tahir Ahmed, with assistance from associates, Melissa Forbes and Sanjanaa Chindalia.

Commenting on the transaction, Tahir Ahmed said: “We are delighted to have advised Mediaquest on this landmark deal for the UAE online media sector. The main challenges of the transaction arose from the timetable set for the deal which meant we had to get up to speed and complete the deal within seven days of being instructed. We were able to meet this timetable by combining the firm’s core strengths in private equity, technology and media.”

“The transaction also overlaps with our own local SME initiatives which include advising Dubai SME, the government body tasked with fostering Dubai’s SME sector and NASDAQ Dubai on its own SME initiative. We view the TMT and SME sectors as being increasingly important to our regional corporate practice. We congratulate Mediaquest and wish them well with the acquisition.”

Michael Dennison of Allen & Overy advised the Seller.

Lawyers Tahir Ahmed, Melissa Forbes