Kayaan Unwalla

Consultant
Norton Rose Fulbright (Middle East) LLP

Dubai
United Arab Emirates
T:+971 (4) 3696394
Dubai
United Arab Emirates
T:+971 (4) 3696394
Kayaan Unwalla

Kayaan Unwalla

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Biography

Kayaan Unwalla is a corporate finance partner lawyer based in Dubai. He focuses on mergers and acquisitions and government contracts.

Kayaan has been based in the UAE for more than a decade, practicing law and advising government bodies in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. He advises sovereign wealth funds, multinational organizations and government on complex cross-border transactional matters including acquisitions, joint ventures and commercial arrangements.

In October 2021, Kayaan was appointed by decree for a term as Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Foreign Trade and the Ministry of Economy. Under this appointment, Kayaan is representing the UAE on a number of bilateral trade agreements, foreign direct investment strategic initiatives and advising on policy within the Ministry.

Kayaan has deep sector experience in technology, defense and national security, manufacturing and industrials and policy initiatives and advises clients regularly on 'bet-the-business' and sensitive matters.

Prior to private practice, Kayaan spent two years in-house with a United States based government contractor with operations in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa, having spent time negotiating and running transactions in said jurisdictions. 

Professional experience

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  • Legal Practitioners Course (LPC), BPP Law School, London, United Kingdom, 2007
  • Bachelor's of Law (LLB Hons), University of Warwick, United Kingdom, 2006
  • Bachelor's of Business and Economics (B. Comm Hons), University of Bombay, India, 2003

 

  • Solicitor qualified in England & Wales 2007

Advising:

  • A confidential sovereign wealth fund - on the activation of tourism sites in the Gulf through a series of joint ventures with tourism operators, including the incorporation of sustainability and ESG targets into the appointments of the relevant operators
  • On the management buyout of a global technology integrator's operations in the Middle East in a multijurisdictional deal involving KSA, Qatar, UAE and Germany
  • A data and cybersecurity organization - on the sale of its data classification/messaging systems business to a US-based private equity firm
  • Decision Sciences International Corporation - on the supply and sale of a millimetre wave threat detection system to a GCC Government agency
  • A South African consortium - on a 15-year border security tender for South Africa
  • ProtectedBy.AI, a US based company - on the development and supply of AI based products to be sold to global intelligence agencies
  • UAE's largest real estate developer - on a US$42m level 1-3 technology outsourcing contract
  • "Grab" (Cursus Technologies) - on a joint venture in the UAE and a concession agreement with Dubai International Airport
  • A US based maritime defence business - on the structuring and the sale of passive defence systems to the KSA government
  • A KSA Government entity - on the potential acquisition of an East European aircraft manufacturer.
  • English
  • Hindi
  • Gujarati

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