Kuwait, 01 March 2015: ASAR - Al Ruwayeh & Partners (ASAR), Kuwait's leading and most prominent corporate law firm, and one of the region's top tier firms, acted as Kuwait legal counsel to the German e-commerce group Rocket Internet in a landmark acquisition of Talabat General Trading and Contracting Company for $170 million. Talabat is a pioneer on-line delivery business which cooperates with over 1300 restaurants and currently operates in the State of Kuwait, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, the Sultanate of Oman and the State of Qatar.

With this transaction, Rocket Internet attains leading market positions in the top Middle East markets. Furthermore, it gains access to new countries with highly attractive market fundamentals.

Commenting on this transaction, Mr. Ezekiel Tuma, Partner at ASAR, said: "We are delighted to have advised Rocket Internet as Kuwait legal counsel on this high profile acquisition. We are particularly proud to be part of the acquisition process for a home grown Kuwaiti e-commerce business. We strongly believe this transaction will act as a trailblazer for a range of acquisitions of e-commerce businesses established and grown by entrepreneurs based in Kuwait and in the Middle East region generally".

With dedicated offices in Kuwait and Bahrain coupled with its associated offices and relationships, ASAR provides clients across an extensive range of industry sectors with comprehensive legal advice and support for their business activities in Kuwait, across the GCC and beyond.

The firm has been consistently rated as the leading corporate and commercial law firm in Kuwait by reputable legal guides such as the Chambers Global Guide, International Financial Law Review (IFLR) and the Legal 500. In October 2014 ASAR won the "IFLR National Law Firm of the Year Award" and the "Project Finance Deal of the Year Award". In addition, ASAR also won the prestigious "2014 Commercial Litigation Law Firm of the Year" and the "2014 Best Banking and Finance Legal Team -Kuwait" awards from Acquisition International Magazine in 2014. ASAR lawyers also received multiple awards under different categories in the Fourth Edition of "Best Lawyers" in Kuwait.

About ASAR - Al Ruwayeh & Partners (ASAR)
ASAR - Al Ruwayeh & Partners ("ASAR") is Kuwait's leading tier one corporate law firm, and one of the most prominent firms operating across the GCC. ASAR provides clients with comprehensive legal support for their business activities. Together with its office in Bahrain, the firm advises a broad array of local and international businesses in both the public and private sectors.

ASAR operates across an extensive list of practices that include banking and finance, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, privatizations, corporate and commercial transactions, energy, real estate, restructuring, private equity, shipping, employment, environment, franchising, insurance, agencies and distributorships, construction, government projects, intellectual property, securities, taxation, commercial litigation and arbitration.

The firm has been consistently rated as the leading corporate and commercial law firm in Kuwait by legal guides such as the Chambers Global Guide, International Financial Law Review and the Legal 500.

Press Release 2015