Hussein Baxter

HUSSEIN BAXTER advises on complex cross-border corporate transactions, including private and public mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, restructurings, and special situations.

His practice focuses on advising international companies and regional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, financial sponsors, multinational corporations, listed companies, and family offices, on transactions across the Middle East and North Africa and globally.

Hussein has experience across a range of sectors, including financial services, insurance, technology, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, energy, automotive and consumer.

He is an important member of Sidley’s Middle East offering, which includes our ranked United Arab Emirates (UAE) Commercial, Corporate and M&A practice (Legal 500 EMEA 2026), and has earned recognition for his contributions. He has been ranked as a “Leading Associate” for Corporate/M&A in the UAE (Legal 500 EMEA 2026), where clients highlight that “Hussein exemplifies the very best of the firm’s M&A offering-combining New York-caliber technical expertise with a deep understanding of Middle Eastern business culture,” and that he “brings sharp analytical skills and deal-making rigor,” adding that he is “not only a trusted legal advisor but also a pragmatic strategist.”

Hussein is fluent in both written and spoken Arabic. He trained and qualified in London and practiced there with some of the leading international firms prior to moving to the UAE.

Hussein’s recent experience includes advising:

• On the establishment of Gulf Partners Group, an upcoming Middle East private equity investment firm focused on alternative investments.
• FAS Group in connection with the acquisition of FAS Renewables, a distributed solar provider, by I Squared Capital.
• A sovereign wealth fund on its acquisition of a stake in a Middle Eastern private equity manager
• Arcapita, a global alternative investment firm, on a number of their major M&A transactions in the Middle East since 2020, including its recent acquisition of one of the leading providers of verification services for skilled workers in the GCC.
• AlSeha Holding Company, a healthcare platform backed by a global alternative investment firm and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund, on the sale of its stake in the UAE company NAS Neuron Health Services, a leading provider of outsourced medical claims processing services in the GCC, to a leading U.S.-based Fortune 500 company.
• A global investment firm on its multibillion-dollar joint venture with a global sovereign investor to invest in, and secure the supply of, strategic metals and minerals.
• Multiple sovereign wealth funds on strategic transactions in the Middle East and across Europe, including acquisitions, disposals, co-investments, and capitalizing and restructuring their portfolio companies.
• Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds on multiple investments in U.S. asset managers.
• A number of fund managers on establishing regulated fund businesses in the GCC.
• Tahweel Integrated Company, a Saudi Arabian leader in the cast pallet-wrap stretch film market, known for delivering tailored industrial solutions across Asia and Europe, on its SAR 3 billion business combination with Nile Investment Limited.
• A family office on its investment in a joint venture established by a leading regional developer, which partnered with a sovereign-backed investment platform to develop a landmark branded residential project in the GCC.
• A family office on its strategic investment in a large-scale mixed-use development featuring branded hospitality, luxury residences, and destination retail in a major U.S. city.
• Family offices on multiple investments in funds investing in U.S. frontier technology and artificial intelligence companies.
• A family office on its investment in a fund focused on the development and expansion of a U.S. data center platform.
• A leading food and beverages company listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on a number of its major recent M&A transactions, including the acquisition of:
  • a 60% stake in an Egyptian snacks company;
  • a 100% stake in a regional confectionary and healthy foods products business;
  • a supermajority stake in an Egyptian frozen processed chicken and beef products company; and
  • an 80% stake in one of the leading regional producers of frozen and chilled processed protein products.
• Emirates Central Cooling Services Corporation (Empower), one of the world’s largest district cooling services providers, on its acquisition, following winning competition auctions, of:
  • 19 district cooling assets in the UAE from Nakheel; and
  • a long-term concession to operate and maintain the district cooling systems of Dubai International Airport.
• A specialist care provider on the disposal of its interests in mental health and healthcare education and training businesses in the UAE.
• A major Middle Eastern bank on the sale of a 60% stake in its payment business, which resulted in an implied valuation of the business that was sold of US$1.15 billion.
• A private hospitals group on its acquisition of assets and the operational merger of hospitals and medical units in Egypt.
• A major manufacturing corporation on the international aspects of the 47-country “carve-out” sale of its Valves & Controls business for $3.15 billion.
• A leading international bank on the carving out of its retail and commercial banking operations from its investment banking arm, the largest-ever bank restructuring, which took over five years to implement.
• A major European bank on its restructuring program, involving the reorganization of 50 companies, and the carving out of its retail and commercial banking operations from its investment banking arm.
• A major European bank on its acquisition, following a competitive auction, of a total balance sheet of €10.3 billion of assets and certain liabilities from another European bank and its capital raise by way of a rights issue and private placement.

*The above includes matters handled prior to joining Sidley.