Souraya Machnouk

Souraya Machnouk is a partner at Abou Jaoude & Associates Law Firm and heads the mergers & acquisitions practice group. Souraya regularly advises clients on complex cross-border acquisitions and corporate finance transactions in a wide array of sectors including telecoms, real estate, retail and banking. She has extensive experience in the regulatory process of acquisitions such as licensing, compliance and post-acquisition integration. Her in-depth specialization and sharp understanding of the financial aspects of M&A deals allow her to add-value by offering tailored legal solutions. Her recent representative work includes transactions of first impression throughout the MENA region, the GCC and Europe, namely:  Counselling a telecom consortium on the acquisition of controlling equity stakes in a telecoms group operating in Africa;  Representing a commercial bank in the acquisition of an equity stake in a listed UK based financial services firm which core business line is carbon capital;  Representing an investment bank in the acquisition of a real estate company through the issuance of hybrid financial instruments for the development of a first-of-its-kind wellness resort in the Middle East region; and  Leading a ground-breaking multi-bank private placement initiative to finance the launch of a TV station. Souraya is recognized by Legal 500 as a Leading Individual and Chambers & Partners reported that “she is an outstanding lawyer – responsive, fast and very impressive.” She holds a JD in private and public law from the St. Joseph University in Beirut, a master degree (DEA) in Banking & Financial Markets Law from the University of Paris II-Assas in partnership with St. Joseph University and joint master of laws degree (LLM) from Georgetown and George Washington Universities. She is admitted to the Beirut Bar and is fluent in Arabic, French and English.