Waleed Rasromani

Waleed is a highly regarded corporate lawyer, with deep experience of corporate and M&A transactions in the Middle East. He is Linklaters' national managing partner in Saudi Arabia.

Waleed has led on some of the largest M&A transactions in the Saudi Arabia. He advises on a range of public and private transactions, with a particular focus on the energy and infrastructure sectors. He works closely with the firm’s energy and infrastructure lawyers on many deals. Waleed’s clients include large institutions in the Kingdom, as well as multinational companies with operations or investments in Saudi Arabia. He is also well positioned to advise on prospective privatisations in the Kingdom.

Waleed is a keen advocate of deploying innovative technologies in the delivery of legal services, including the use of AI software in due diligence matters, eBibling and Linklaters’ proprietorial CreateIQ, a digital contract automation and negotiation platform that captures structured data from legal documents at source.

Waleed was based in the firm’s London office between 2009 and March 2018. He spent nine months in 2016 on secondment to Hutchison 3G (Three) in London, supporting the in-house legal team on a range of commercial contracts and the proposed acquisition of O2. 

Before qualifying as a lawyer, Waleed was a programmer in Silicon Valley and a banker and a journalist in the Middle East.

Work highlights

Waleed has led on many market-leading transactions, including advising:

• Hassana Investment Company on the US$2.4bn strategic investment in DP World's flagship UAE assets – Jebel Ali Free Port, Jebel Ali Free Zone and the National Industries Park.
• Al Rajhi Holding and other shareholders on the sale of shares in ACWA Power to the Public Investment Fund and others.
• SABIC Agri-Nutrients Company on the acquisition of the agricultural nutrients businesses of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) in exchange for shares listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).
• Linde on the establishment of an industrial gases joint venture in Saudi Arabia with Sipchem.
• Advanced Petrochemical on a joint venture with SK Gas to build and operate a US$1.8bn propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene plants in Jubail.
• Ahli United Bank on the proposed acquisition of Ahli United Bank by Kuwait Finance House, the largest cross-border public takeover in the GCC and the first ever cross-border public takeover involving a share issuance in the GCC.

Waleed is an active supporter of the firm’s pro bono and community investment initiatives. These include coordinating research on structural discrimination for the International Centre for Advocates Against Discrimination, contributing to the firm’s publication on women’s rights in the Arab world for the Trust Women Conference and organising a screening of the Girl Rising documentary and associated panel discussion to mark the International Day of the Girl. Prior to moving to Dubai, he spent a two-month sabbatical volunteering at the International Refugee Assistance Project in Beirut to screen and resettle refugees.

Waleed has written:

Guide to investing in Saudi Arabia

Year in Review 2020 and Year to Come 2021 - Saudi Arabian Law

Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority issues regulations on depositary receipts

Waleed studied management information systems, finance and economics at McGill University, Canada and holds a master of arts in legal studies from the University of Bristol, United Kingdom. 

He speaks Arabic and English.