Chris Macbeth has a broad commercial practice that includes cross-border M&A and private equity and funds, including LP investments, co-investments and direct investments (including infrastructure investments) by institutional investors and investments by funds.

Throughout his career he has developed a multijurisdictional practice, particularly in emerging markets, with more than a decade of focus on the MENA region. He has extensive experience representing Middle East sovereign wealth funds in their investments across a wide range of sectors and geographies.

Chris joined the firm in 2006, became a counsel in 2013, and became a partner in 2020. From 2006 to 2012, he was resident in the London office.

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Notable Experience

  • A consortium of selling shareholders led by Mansour Ojjeh and TAG Airport Limited on the sale of TAG Farnborough Airport to Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 6.

  • Several leading GCC sovereign wealth funds in numerous multibillion-dollar funds, investment, and co-investment transactions.

  • Abu Dhabi Investment Authority in connection with its participation in a consortium with EQT Fund Management S.à.r.l. and other renowned institutional investors, in exclusive negotiations to acquire Nestlé Skin Health from Nestlé S.A. for an enterprise value of CHF 10.2 billion.

  • Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and TPG Capital in connection with their $1.2 billion joint equity investment into UPL Corporation Limited (UPLC), a wholly-owned subsidiary and the international arm of UPL Limited.

  • TAG Group Limited in a transaction involving the simultaneous settlement of litigation with Ron Dennis, the £275 million acquisition of his stakes in McLaren Technology Group Limited (MTGL) and McLaren Automotive Limited (MAL), the bringing together of MTGL and MAL and their respective subsidiaries under the new holding company, McLaren Group Limited, and a related £564 million bond offering.

  • Philip Morris International in its acquisition of 49 percent of the shares of Arab Investors-TA for $625 million, as well as in its agreement with Trans-Emirates Trading & Investment (FZC) to create a new cigarette manufacturing and distribution joint venture in Egypt.

  • Warid Telecom International in the $758 million sale of its 30% percent interest in Warid Telecom (Private) Limited to Singapore Telecomunications Limited, giving Warid Telecom an enterprise value of $2.9 billion.

  • Warid Telecom International in the merger of Warid and Mobilink, the first merger in the mobile telecommunications sector in Pakistan.

  • OMV in connection with its purchase of a 15% stake in ADNOC Refining, giving the unit an enterprise value of $19.3 billion.

  • OCI in its strategic partnership with ADNOC, combining ADNOC Fertilizer with OCI’s MENA nitrogen fertilizer platform to form a new joint venture. The joint venture will become the largest export-focused nitrogen fertilizer platform globally.

  • Silk Road Fund in subsidiary CVXF’s $155 million acquisition of a 49% stake in ACWA Power Renewable Energy.

  • Agilent Technologies in its $2.2 billion acquisition of Danish cancer diagnostics company Dako A/S.

  • TPG in its £1.3 billion sale of Turkish spirits manufacturer Mey İçki Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. to Diageo plc.

  • Istithmar in its global joint venture with Education Media and Publishing Group Limited (EMPG) to form the vehicle EMPG International Limited.

  • Henkel in its £2.7 billion acquisition of the adhesives and electronic and engineering materials businesses of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI).

  • UniCredit on the establishment of the first ADGM branch of an international bank.

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Publications

“GenAI: Opportunities and Risks for Private Equity Firms and Portfolio Companies,” co-author with Edward Aldred, Gabriele Antonazzo, Chris Gollop, Michael James, Gareth Kristensen Michael J. Preston, Ian Shawyer, Alexander van der Gaag, Christy O’Connell, and Joanna Roberts, December 20, 2024

“Private Equity Market Snapshot: 2024 Roundup,” co-author with Edward Aldred, Gabriele Antonazzo, Chris Gollop, Michael James, Michael J. Preston, Ian Shawyer, Alexander van der Gaag, Christy O’Connell, and Joanna Roberts, December 20, 2024

“How Are Competition Laws Heating Up in the Middle East? An Insider’s Guide to the Recent Surge in Legislation and Enforcement,” Kluwer Competition Law Blog, December 2024

“Proposed Enhancements to the ADGM’s Sustainable Finance Regulatory Framework,” co-author with Misthura Otubu, Daniela Weerashinghe, and Kay Hechaime, October 18, 2024

“Green Bonds and Global Pledges: Unpacking COP28’s Impact,” co-author with Misthura Otubu, Daniela Weerashinghe, and Omar Almansoori, Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum, October 14, 2024

“United Arab Emirates,” Lexology In-Depth: Sustainable Finance Law, co-author with Misthura Otubu, Daniela Weerashinghe, and Kay Hechaime, January 3, 2023

“Sovereign Wealth Funds: Shaping a Sustainable Future in the Middle East” co-author with Gamal M. Abouali, Lynn Ammar, and Daniela Weerasinghe, December 12, 2023

“ADGM’s Highest Court Upholds the Direct Enforceability of English Common Law and Its Canon of Precedents,” co-author with Gamal M. Abouali, Lynn Ammar, Olisa Maduegbuna, and Kay Hechaime, Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum, November 28, 2023

“Global ESG Focus is Reshaping Private Equity,” co-author with Ian Shawyer, Michael Preston, Gabriele Antonazzo, Ed Aldred, Michael James, Sophie Smith, and Christy O’Conell, November 9, 2023

“UAE’s Innovative Climate Risk Principles Expected to Apply to Whole Financial Sector”, co-author with Daniela Weerasinghe, Clara Cibrario Assereto, and Julia A. Knight, Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum, May 3, 2023

“The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive”, co-author with Clara Cibrario Assereto, Amélie Champsaur, Maurits Dolmans, Francesca L. Odell, Helena K. Grannis and, Camille Kernevès, Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum, February 16, 2023

“An Innovative Sustainable Finance Regulatory Framework Takes Shape in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), co-author with Clara Cibrario Assereto, Misthura Otubu, Daniela Weerasinghe and Olisa Maduegbuna, Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum, January 27, 2023<

“A Global Overview of Sustainability Disclosure Rules for the Asset Management Industry,” co-author with Yulia A. Solomakhina, Helena K. Grannis, Robert K. Williams, Ferdisha Snagg, Maurits Dolmans, Clara Cibrario Assereto, Daisy Yan, Yiming Sun and George Taylor, Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum, January 18, 2022.

“Dubai Enacts Sweeping Decree Reforming and Modernizing the Framework for Arbitration in the Emirate,” co-author with Gamal Abouali, Richard Kreindler, Zachary O’Dell, Laurie Achtouk-Spivak and Zeïneb Bouraoui, Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum, November 2, 2021.

“Provisional Agreement On European Climate Law,” co-author with Maurits Dolmans, Emma O’Brien, Géraldine Bourguignon, Laurie Achtouk-Spivak, Robert Garden and Clara Cibrario Assereto, Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum, April 27, 2021.

“ADGM enacts new Data protection Regulations 2021,” Cleary Cybersecurity and Privacy Watch blog, April 7, 2021 (co-authors: Gareth Kristensen, Natalie Farmer, Courtenay Stock).

“Progress Since Paris: Sustainable Policy in Europe in 2020 and Beyond,” Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2021, January 11, 2021 (co-authors: Géraldine Bourguignon and Caroline Petruzzi McHale).

“Sustainable Finance: 2021 Brings Significant New ESG Disclosure Obligations for Financial Services Firms,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo, January 5, 2021 (co-authors: George Taylor, Denise Shiu, Raymond Lam, Géraldine Bourguignon, Ferdisha Snagg, Helena K. Grannis, Caroline Petruzzi McHale and Clara Cibrario Assereto).

“ADGM to Adopt New GDPR-like Data Protection Regime,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo, December 21, 2020 (co-authors: Courtenay Stock, Natalie Farmer, and Gareth Kristensen). 

“Revamp of the UAE Federal Companies Law: 100% Foreign Ownership and Enhancements to Ease of Doing Business,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo, December 7, 2020 (co-authors: Gamal M. Abouali, Jad Nasr and Lynn Ammar). 

“European Commission Consults on Sustainable Corporate Governance,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo, December 3, 2020 (co-authors: George Taylor, Géraldine Bourguignon, Caroline Petruzzi McHale, and Clara Cibrario Assereto).

“A Framework Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo, November 17, 2020 (co-authors: George Taylor, Denise Shiu, Géraldine Bourguignon, Ferdisha Snagg, Helena K. Grannis, Caroline Petruzzi McHale, and Clara Cibrario Assereto).

“Full Foreign Ownership in UAE Takes Shape: Abu Dhabi and Dubai Issue First FDI Licenses,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo, November 17, 2020 (co-authors: Gamal Abouali, Jad Nasr, and Lynn Ammar).

“Sustainable Finance: A Global Overview of ESG Regulatory Developments,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo, October 22, 2020 (co-authors: George Taylor, Géraldine Bourguignon, Jim Ho, Caroline Petruzzi McHale, and Clara Cibrario Assereto).

“Venture Capital Investing: New NVCA Models, and New Challenges for Foreign Investors in Early-Stage U.S. Companies,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo, October 7, 2020 (co-authors: Adam A. Jamal, George Taylor, Paul Marquardt, Chase D. Kaniecki, Hani Isam Bashour, and William L. McRae).

“Navigating COVID-19: Supply Chain Considerations,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo, July 15, 2020 (co-authors: Steven L. Wilner, Francesca L. Odell, Jennifer Kennedy Park, Helena K. Grannis, D. Bruce Hoffman, Frédéric de Bure, Caroline Hailey, and Michael J. Preston).

“Key Considerations for the Telecoms Industry,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo, June 11, 2020 (co-authors: Marco D’Ostuni, Francisco Enrique González-Díaz, Daniel P. Culley, and Bernd Langeheine).

“While Others Increase Scrutiny of FDI, the UAE Takes Another Step Towards Relaxation of Foreign Ownership Restrictions,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo, April 17, 2020 (co-author: Jad Nasr).

“Return of the MAC? – Protecting Buyers During a Pandemic,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo, March 30, 2020 (co-authors: Matthew P. Salerno, Tihir Sarkar, Rodolphe Elineau, Carlo Santoro, Michael J. Ulmer, and Yulia A. Solomakhina).

“UAE Issues New Foreign Direct Investment Law,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo, November 19, 2018 (co-authors: Gamal Abouali, Lynn Ammar, Maha Alali, and Mohamed Taha).

“End of 51 Per Cent Emirati Ownership Rule ‘Will Greatly Spur Foreign Investment,’” The National, May 22, 2018.

“Iran—9 Months On,” Banker Middle East, October 2016 (co-authors: Till Müller-Ibold and Paul Marquardt).

“Abu Dhabi Sets Foundations for a Flourishing Market,” The National, June 27, 2015.

Events