Our corporate lawyers work for leading companies across Africa and around the world, from multinational corporations and national leaders to new tech businesses and startups, in all areas of finance, development and investment.
From mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and venture capital to private and public equity and debt offerings, DLA Piper is one of the most active law firms on the continent. In fact, our #1 ranking in the Mergermarket Africa (2025) and African & Middle East (2023-2025)M&A league table shows that we handle more transactions on the continent than any other law firm. This means that whatever the challenge faced by our clients, chances are we've seen it before and know how to respond.
We understand the political, cultural, regulatory and economic issues involved with doing business in Africa, and tailor our approaches accordingly.
Our people and operations in Africa have been recognized by a raft of legal industry awards. Apart from our current #1 position in Mergermarket, SuperReturn Africa awarded us the Best Law Firm of the Year award in 2025.
Our clients benefit from the high-value combination of local knowledge, global insight and efficiencies that flows from our vibrant cross-border practice. Wecan handle all aspects of complex domestic and international corporate matters.
Key capabilities include:
- cross-border public and private M&A:
- inception, planning and due diligence
- deal execution
- post-merger integrations
- joint ventures
- growth by alternatives to M&A
- capital markets - equity and debt
- private equity
- investment funds
- venture capital
- corporate governance
Please contact us to discuss how we can help you to achieve your objectives.
- Recognised by Chambers Global (2018-2026) in Corporate/M&A in Africa-Wide. Market commentators highlight the firm for its responsive service:
- "They have a strong ability to negotiate and draft commercial agreements that reflect all parties' commercial interests, while also mitigating risks for their client.
- "The team is commercially astute, service-oriented and practical. The lawyers exhibit the ability to progress and complete complex transactions under challenging and demanding circumstances."
- #1 in Africa M&A (MergerMarket 2025) and Africa & Middle East M&A (Mergermarket 2023 & 2024) by deal volume
- Winner of the Best Law Firm of the Year, 2025 – SuperReturn Africa
- Impact deal of the year (carveout of Sanofi's healthcare division (Opella) and sale to CD&R, which was awarded impact deal of the year), LMG Life Sciences Awards EMEA 2025
- Impact deal of the year – Projects (Baowu Group – Simandou investment ), IFLR Africa Awards 2025
- 10 of our lawyers recognised in the African M&A Private Practice Powerlist, 2024
- Impact deals of the year (GE HealthCare Technologies spinoff), LMG Life Sciences Awards EMEA 2023
In terms of the ease-of-doing-business environment, the 2019 Doing Business Report rates Uganda at 127 out of 190 countries, while the 2018 Global Competitiveness Index rates Uganda at 117 of 140 countries.
Various vehicles exist under Burundian law. In fact, a Burundian company is established by an agreement involving two or more shareholders who agree to share part of their property and their know how to perform one or more specified activities in order to share the profits or take advantage of the economy that may result.
In the World Bank’s ease of doing business (2020) Ghana scored 60.0 on a scale of 100 as compared to the regional average (Sub-Saharan) of 51.8.
The global business segment of the Mauritius International Financial Centre provides convenience, fiscal efficiency and risk mitigation for companies engaged in international operations.