Linklaters advises e& on its proposed US$400m investment in Careem Super App

Linklaters advised Emirates Telecommunication Group Company e& on its proposed US$400m investment in exchange for a majority stake in Careem’s Super App. The current shareholders of Careem – Uber Technologies and all three of Careem’s co-founders – will remain shareholders of Careem’s Super App alongside e&.

Part of Careem, the Careem Super App is a UAE-based business with operations in over 80 cities, covering nine countries across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia regions. It provides numerous integrated consumer centric digital services such as Food, Groceries, Pay, Bike, Delivery, and additional third-party services. With this new investment, Careem plans to accelerate the realisation of its ambitious vision to create the first “everything app” serving customers across the greater Middle East.

This acquisition is in line with e&’s strategic ambition of scaling up consumer digital offerings and accelerating its transformation to a global technology and investments group. It provides e& with access to multiple digital verticals, new innovative digital services, strong talent, and new geographies.

The completion of the transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals, customary closing conditions, and administrative procedures.

Linklaters’ leading corporate practice is renowned for advising on landmark transactions in the Middle East. The firm’s commitment to excellence and in-depth understanding of the legal and commercial landscape enables the team to deliver innovative advice to help clients successfully pursue opportunities and realise strategic investments.

The transaction was led by Linklaters’ UAE-based corporate partner Nicholas Edwards, who was supported by managing associates Artem Boiko, Faysal Lassas and Stuart Peters and associates Tala Alhreish and Jordan Badenko in the Abu Dhabi office.

The Linklaters cross-practice and multi-jurisdictional team advising on the investment also included the following key members from Dubai, Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, London and New York:

• TMT: counsel Nick Roudev, managing associates Yang Fan and Jia-Yi Tay;
• Intellectual property: partner Paul Joseph, associates Armin Lambertz and Hollie Cooke;
• Antitrust & foreign investment: partner Anna Mitchell, managing associate Lukas Solek and associate Jakob Sesok;
• Tax: partner Max Levine, counsel Omer Harel, managing associates Reuven Rosen and Sam Lintonbon and associate Rohesia Vince; and
• Employment & incentives: counsel Julie Sharp and associate Rochelle Silva who led the employment stream of the transaction, and U.S. Head of Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Andrew Gaines and Global Head of Employment & Incentives Alexandra Beidas who provided employment incentives advice with support from associate Hanaan Ullah.