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Deal by Design
Welcome to this edition of Law Update, focusing on the evolving M&A landscape across the MENA region. With deal activity and value continuing to grow, the region is seeing increased investor interest alongside a changing regulatory environment.
This edition explores key legal and market developments affecting M&A transactions, including regulatory reforms, foreign investment, governance, due diligence and deal structuring across the region.
Responsibility
This Privacy Notice is provided by Al Tamimi & Company Limited (DIFC Commercial Licence No. CL0155 of Level 7, Central Park Towers, Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates) for and on behalf of itself and the various entities operating as part of the Al Tamimi law firm across the Middle East, as further specified here (collectively, “Al Tamimi & Company”, “we”, “us”, “our”). This Privacy Notice has been prepared with reference to applicable data protection laws, including the DIFC Data Protection Law, and may be augmented by jurisdictional specific addendums from time to time.
We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of the personal information that we process in the course of our business, including the personal information we receive from you (“you” or “your”). This Privacy Notice describes how and why we collect, store and use personal information, and provides information about the rights of the individuals to whom such personal information relates.
For the purposes of applicable data protection law, Al Tamimi & Company is typically the “data controller” of any personal information provided to us. Specifically, your data will be controlled by the Al Tamimi Entity that you have instructed, or that is providing services to or communicating with you. Very occasionally, we will act on specific retainers as a “processor” (meaning that we process personal data only in accordance with the directions of a data controller, or as otherwise permitted by applicable law).
Please read the following information carefully to understand our views and practices regarding how we handle personal information. If you have any queries about our approach to data protection that are not already addressed in this Privacy Notice, please contact our Chief Risk & Compliance Officer, as per the contact details set out at the end of this Privacy Notice.
This Privacy Notice applies to all entities that control and process personal data within Al Tamimi & Company as specified here.
Collection of Personal Information
We may collect personal information from you in the course of our business, when you contact us or request information from us, when you instruct us to provide legal services, when you use our website or mobile app (or other platforms), or as a result of your relationship with any of our personnel or clients.
The personal information that we process includes:
We may collect your personal information:
We collect most of this information directly from you, or through your use of our website. However, we may also collect data about you from a third party source, such as our clients, recruitment agencies, your employer, other law firms or professional advisers, other parties to matters in which we are involved, platform operators for technology used in our business (e.g. webinar platforms), other organisations that you have dealings with, regulators or other government authorities, credit reporting agencies, information service providers, or from publicly available records (including electronic data sources to conduct checks to enable us to comply with applicable law).
The information you provide may be confidential, and we will maintain such confidentiality and protect your information in accordance with our professional obligations and applicable law. We have arrangements in place with personnel and service providers who may process your personal information, to ensure that confidentiality is maintained.
Purposes
Whether we receive your personal data directly from you or from a third party, we will only use your personal information if we have obtained your consent (where necessary), or if we have another lawful basis upon which to do so (e.g. for the performance of a contract to which you are a party, or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into such contract; for compliance with a legal obligation on us; to protect your vital interests or those of another natural person; or for our own legitimate interests, or those of a third party, except where such interests are overridden by your own rights or interests).
The purposes for which we process your personal information are as follows:
Client Relationship Management
We operate a Client Relationship Management email mailing list program, which we use to inform clients and other contacts about our services, including our publications and events. Such marketing messages may contain tracking technologies in order to track subscriber activity relating to engagement, demographics and other data, and to build subscriber profiles. We use this as a means by which to undertake direct marketing.
If you would like to cease receiving marketing materials from us at any time, please let our CRM management team know directly. You can also change your preferences for receiving our marketing emails and legal updates from us at any time, and you can unsubscribe by following the instructions specified in our marketing emails or via the websites. Please update your details by contacting our CRM management team by email at crmhelpdesk@tamimi.com.
Cookies
Cookies are small files that are sent to a computer’s hard drive by a web server, enabling a website to remember who you are. Information from cookies may include information relating to your use of our websites, information about your computer (such as IP address and browser type), and demographic data. We use cookies on our website. Please see our Cookie Notice to find out more about the cookies we use and how to manage and delete cookies.
Sharing your Personal Information
We may disclose your personal information to a recipient (i) for the purposes of outsourcing one or more of the purposes-related functions described above; (ii) to confirm or update information provided by you; (iii) to inform you of events, information about our services, and other important information, or (iv) for other purposes disclosed at or before the time the information is collected. If we re-organise our business, we may need to transfer your personal information to other group entities or to third parties.
If you tell us you wish to attend an event, your name and organisation may appear on a list which we provide to other delegates at the event. We also take photographs and videos of our events, and this may result in your image being captured and used in the course of reporting on the event (e.g. via social media or other means); we will draw this to your attention in materials relating to specific events.
In relation to any other disclosures to third parties as necessary to provide the services as effectively as we can (for example but not limited to our professional advisors such as lawyers and accountants, government or regulatory authorities, professional indemnity insurers, tax authorities, document processing and transaction services, corporate registries, counsel, arbitrators, mediators, clerks, witnesses, experts, third party postal and courier services), we will only do so where you have given your consent, where we are required to do so by law, or where it is necessary for the purpose of or in connection with legal proceedings or in order to exercise or defend legal rights. We do not sell, rent, distribute, or otherwise make, personal information commercially available to any third party.
In the course of our business, we will process personal information using a range of third party technology services, including cloud-based systems and artificial intelligence. We will also process personal information provided to us by or on behalf of our clients or generated by us for the purposes of the work we do for them. The information may be disclosed to third parties to the extent reasonably necessary in connection with that work. The use of these services may require your personal information to be held in the cloud on infrastructure managed by the relevant service provider.
Cross-Border Transfer of Your Information
It may sometimes be necessary for us to share your personal information with other Al Tamimi & Company offices around the Middle East and Africa region (currently, in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) or for such Al Tamimi & Company offices to share your information with Al Tamimi & Company in the DIFC.
Where necessary, we may also share your personal information with government, regulators and enforcement agencies, courts, tribunals in connection with enquiries, proceedings or investigations by such parties anywhere in the world or where compelled to do so.
It may also be necessary for us to share your personal information with third parties and associated professional services firms around the world, who provide services to us or on our behalf (including data storage facilities or online storage located within or outside the United Arab Emirates, which may be operated by independent service contractors). This will entail a transfer of personal information from within the Dubai International Financial Centre to recipients outside the DIFC, and vice versa.
The level of personal information protection in the various jurisdictions in which we operate varies, and in some instances may not provide an adequate level of protection from an international perspective. To address this, we have procedures and safeguards in place to ensure the protection of personal information. These procedures include contractual obligations to ensure that all such entities safeguard your personal information and use it only for the purposes that we have specified and communicated to you. (For further information, please contact our Chief Risk & Compliance Officer at privacy@tamimi.com.) When we transfer your information to other countries, we will use, share and safeguard that information as described in this Privacy Notice.
How long we keep your Personal Information
We will retain your personal information for the length of time needed to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, unless we specifically agree a longer retention period with you, or a longer retention period is required to comply with our legal or regulatory accounting or reporting requirements, as permitted by applicable law or to assert or defend against legal claims.
Your Rights
Various rights may be available to you, depending on the circumstances and the applicable law. We summarise key rights likely to be available to most data subjects:
The above rights may be subject to certain exceptions and limitations under applicable data protection laws. Our responses may vary depending on the nature and circumstances of the request.
Please note that in certain circumstances, the processing via an automated or semi-automated system may prevent fulfilment of individuals’ rights to erase or rectify their data. In such circumstances, we will assess such requests individually and provide a justification. If you would like to exercise any of the above rights, or any other rights available to you pursuant to applicable law, please contact our Chief Risk & Compliance Officer using the contact details set out below. In order to comply with your request, we will require proof of your identity.
We aim to respond to all legitimate rights requests within the relevant statutory time limits; however, where permitted by law, we may take longer if the request is complex.
Information Security
We have implemented reasonable administrative, technical and physical measures to protect your personal information against loss, misuse and alteration.
Processing through Autonomous and Semi-Autonomous Systems
In the course of providing our services and managing our business operations, we may use autonomous or semi-autonomous systems (each, a “System”) to process personal information and do so in accordance with the applicable requirements of Regulation 10 of the DIFC Data Protection Regulations. These Systems include, but are not limited to, AI-driven chatbots, automated document review tools, translation, help manage emails, meetings and tasks and assisting with our anti-money laundering and Know Your Client procedures.
For further information about how we use autonomous or semi-autonomous systems, including details of any specific System in use and the safeguards applied, please contact our Chief Risk & Compliance Officer using the contact details set out below.
Changes to this Privacy Notice
We may from time to time make changes to this Privacy Notice. Where these are likely to be material, we will communicate these in advance. Otherwise, these will become effective once the amended Privacy Notice is posted on our website. Please check back regularly to keep informed of updates to this Privacy Notice.
How to Contact Us
Our Chief Risk & Compliance Officer oversees compliance with data protection within Al Tamimi & Company. If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice, or our processing of your personal data, please contact our Chief Risk & Compliance Officer using the contact details set out below:
Chief Risk & Compliance Officer
Al Tamimi & Company Limited
Level 7, Central Park Towers, Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Email: privacy@tamimi.com
Telephone: +971 4 364 1641
Al Tamimi & Company consists of three offices in KSA as follows:
(collectively all three Saudi Al Tamimi & Company offices are referred to as “Al Tamimi & Company KSA”, “we”, “us”, “our”). We collect personal data directly from you and from relevant third parties that provide personal information to us. When we process your personal information, this privacy addendum will apply.
This privacy addendum incorporates the content and disclosures made in the Al Tamimi & Company Privacy Notice (“Privacy Notice”) and relates to the processing of personal data relating to data subjects who are residents in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (the KSA).
Where Al Tamimi & Company KSA processes any personal information within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the following will apply to ensure compliance with the provision of the KSA Personal Data Protection Law implemented by Royal Decree No. M/19 of 09/02/1443H and amended by Royal Decree No. M/147 of 05/09/1444H (PDPL), the Implementing Regulations of the PDPL (“Implementing Regulations”), along with the amendments to the Data Transfer Regulations (Data Transfer Regulations).
We will not subsequently process your personal information in a manner that is inconsistent with the purpose for its collection (except where permitted as per the PDPL).
In addition to your rights set out in the Privacy Notice, you are entitled to exercise the following rights with respect to your personal information:
The above rights may be limited, and we may deny or restrict fulfilment of your request in some cases, such as when your access to data places another individual’s privacy rights at risk, or the continued processing of your data is necessary to comply with a legal obligation. If so, we will notify you of the reason(s) for this denial.
We may process sensitive personal information (as defined in the PDPL). When we process your sensitive information we will generally do so on the basis of your consent; however, we may also process your sensitive information to fulfil our legal obligations or to protect your vital interests.
We only process sensitive personal information (as necessary) if and to the extent permitted and needed for achieving purposes set out in the Privacy Notice. If you have any questions about the provision of sensitive personal information to us, please contact us.
Cross Border Transfers of Personal Information
When transferring your personal data outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we do so in accordance with the PDPL and its Transfer Regulations.
We may transfer your personal information to other countries that have been recognised by the competent supervisory authority as having adequate levels of protection for personal information (i.e. pursuant to ‘adequacy decisions’). In the absence of adequacy decisions, we will only transfer your personal information to countries where we have implemented appropriate safeguards to ensure that your personal information remains protected and secure.
Complaint
If you have any concerns, you can file a complaint to our Chief Risk & Compliance Officer at privacy@tamimi.com.
If you are not satisfied with how we process your complaint, you can file a complaint to the Competent Authority, the Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA).
SDAIA Address
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh
Website Saudi Data & AI Authority (sdaia.gov.sa)
National Data Governance Platform “DGP” (dgp.sdaia.gov.sa)
Last updated: August 2026
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