Deliberately focused.
Leading in our practice areas.
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Our Focus Areas
Corporate / M&A / Finance
Corporate
We advise clients on all aspects of company law including directors’ duties, shareholder rights and remedies, corporate finance and insolvency. We advise the board of directors of various clients across a variety of sectors including in the banking, financial services, insurance, hospitality, transportation and property development sectors. We have a wealth of experience advising client companies on regulation and corporate governance including on their interactions with regulators and other stakeholders.
We have a dedicated corporate services arm, Bastion Corporate Services Limited, which holds a Class C CSP authorisation by the MFSA to provide corporate services, including company secretarial and company formation services. Bastion Corporate Services Limited acts as company secretary to numerous client companies, including both private and public listed entities.
M&A
We have extensive experience advising on significant and cross-border M&A transactions, including the conduct of due diligence, in a broad range of industries, including in the banking, financial services, insurance, hospitality, infrastructure, gaming, information technology, life sciences and consumer goods. We frequently work on transactions in collaboration with overseas law firms in multiple jurisdictions.
Finance
We advise clients on capital market transactions, listings on regulated markets, equity and debt offerings and tender offers, in a broad variety of industries. In addition, we work on behalf of both lenders and borrowers on a wide variety of finance and security transactions, including syndicated and multi-creditor facilities, senior and mezzanine funding, leveraged buy-outs, project and asset (including real estate, ship and aircraft) finance.
We also assist financial institutions, asset managers, insurance firms and investment funds with licence applications, and on-going regulatory and compliance matters, including cross-border regulatory issues arising on the EU passporting of their services and branches, and the distribution of their products across EU member states.
Recent experience
Our Corporate and M&A experience includes:
• Advising a Middle East investor on its successful acquisition of a credit institution in Malta.
• Advising a private equity investor on its proposed acquisition of a credit institution in the United Kingdom.
• Advising a US private equity investor on the successful acquisition of a qualifying shareholding in a credit institution in Malta.
• Advising a Mauritian-based financial services group on its proposed acquisition of a credit institution in Malta.
• Advising the shareholders of a Maltese insurance broking firm on the sale of the company to an overseas insurance broking group.
• Advising a Maltese listed financial services group on its acquisition by a private equity investor.
• Advising an insurance broking firm on its merger with another insurance broking firm to create one of the leading insurance broking firms in Malta.
• Advising a Maltese listed asset management company on the acquisition of the life insurance business of a Mauritian group.
Our finance experience includes:
• Advising a development finance institution on its finance and security documents in connection with a US$236 million financing of an oil refinery project in Africa.
• Advising a Maltese subsidiary of a multinational transportation and infrastructure group, on the Maltese law aspects of a financing and security transaction in connection with a US$350 million financing for the purposes of the sale and leaseback of a fleet of aircraft.
• Advising a leading investment bank on Maltese law in connection with a US$150 million loan participation to a Malta SPV to finance an infrastructure project by a Turkish group.
• Advising a leading investment bank on Maltese law in connection with senior and mezzanine facilities of €127 million to finance a leveraged buy-out of a Malta-based telecommunication group.
• Advising a leading investment bank on taking security under Maltese law in connection with the refinancing of a loan facility to a multi-national hotel group.
• Advising a property development company on its bond issues and listings on the Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange.
• Advising a hospitality group on its bond issues and listings on the Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange.
• Advising a financial services group on its bond issues and listings on the Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange.
• Advising a supermarket business on its bond issue and listing on the Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange.
• Advising a multinational banking group on the offering in Malta of various tranches of a Euro Medium Term Note Programme.
• Advising an international cross-border payments and foreign exchange group on the cross-border provision of payments and foreign exchange services in Malta.
• Advising a global asset manager on the sale and marketing of hedge funds, fund of hedge funds, long only funds and segregated accounts in Malta.
Key contacts: Dr. Amanda Vella / Dr. Roderick Zammit Pace
Arbitration / Dispute Resolution
Arbitration
We represent clients in international and domestic arbitrations involving significant commercial and often multi-jurisdictional disputes in various sectors including construction and engineering, M&A, shareholder and joint venture agreements, financial services, iGaming and commercial disputes.
Our experience includes acting as co-counsel in arbitrations together with counsel from global arbitration practices and barristers from leading barrister chambers in London and internationally. We have acted in arbitrations conducted under the rules of major institutions including UNCITRAL, LCIA and ICC rules.
Some of our team members have sat as arbitrators and acted as expert witnesses on Maltese law in high profile international arbitration cases, including in investor-state disputes. Our arbitration experience includes obtaining interim measures and enforcement of arbitral awards before the Maltese courts.
Key contacts: Dr. Anthea D’Anastas / Dr. Roderick Zammit Pace
Dispute Resolution
We are experienced litigators in our practice areas. We are regularly instructed to work on complex commercial and multi-jurisdictional disputes involving the Maltese courts. We advise clients across a wide spectrum of corporate disputes including shareholder remedies for unfair prejudice, breach of director duties, fraud and misconduct claims and insolvency. We represent clients in contentious regulatory matters in the financial services sector.
Our experience includes representing institutional clients before the Financial Services Tribunal and the Administrative Board of Review of the European Central Bank. We also advise investors and investment funds on claims against fund managers, custodians and depositaries, including professional negligence and investment mis-selling claims.
We regularly assist lenders and borrowers on banking and finance litigation and claims relating to default proceedings, as well as the enforcement of guarantees and security. In addition, we advise clients on commercial dispute resolution in other industries we serve, including construction, hospitality, life sciences and transportation.
Recent experience
Our arbitration experience includes:
• Representing a hospitality client as lead counsel in domestic arbitration proceedings against a contractor in a dispute arising from a FIDIC Red Book contract.
• Acting as legal expert witness on Maltese law in an investor-state arbitration held in Paris under the ICC Rules.
• Representing a foreign contractor as co-counsel in proceedings before the Maltese Courts for interim measures against a Maltese developer to secure a claim in arbitration proceedings brought in London under the ICC Rules in a dispute arising from a FIDIC Yellow Book contract.
• Representing a stock exchange listed development company as lead counsel in domestic arbitration proceedings in respect of a dispute under a sale and works contract involving a luxury development.
• Representing a superyacht yard in international arbitration proceedings brought against a superyacht owner under a refit contract.
• Representing a property development company in domestic arbitration proceedings brought by a professional services firm under a consultancy contract in connection with a dispute involving services allegedly provided in connection with a lifestyle building development.
• Representing a fuel trading business in domestic arbitration proceedings brought by a design consultancy firm under a professional services agreement in connection with design and quantity surveying services allegedly provided in relation to the construction of the client’s head offices.
• Representing a gaming company in domestic arbitration proceedings against a B2B operator for breach of contract under a B2B cooperation agreement.
Our dispute resolution experience includes:
• Representing a Maltese bank in claims for the enforcement of security over real estate assets.
• Representing an international commodities group, in litigation before the Maltese courts by a financing bank in a dispute involving security over commodities.
• Advising a sovereign owned financial institution in a dispute before the Maltese courts alleging fraud and breach of fiduciary obligations against various entities and individuals connected with a Malta-based investment fund.
• Representing the Swedish Pensions Agency, an agency of the Kingdom of Sweden, in a dispute with a Maltese custodian bank, which was settled successfully.
• Representing a senior official of a sovereign wealth fund in proceedings involving investment vehicles holding state assets and allegations of misuse of corporate assets.
• Representing a Maltese UCITS fund, in litigation before the Maltese Courts alleging fraud against a fund manager and its connected persons.
• Representing a Maltese credit institution in appeal proceedings before the Administrative Board of Review of the European Central Bank.
• Representing Maltese credit institutions in appeal proceedings before the Maltese Financial Services Tribunal and the Maltese Court of Appeal.
• Representing independent financial advisers in claims before the Maltese Courts alleging mis-selling of investment products.
Key contacts: Dr. Sharon Desira Buttigieg / Dr. Roderick Zammit Pace
Construction
We advise on construction contracts and projects, including procurement, contract administration, DABs, mediation, arbitration and dispute resolution. We have experience of negotiating and advising on leading contract forms, including FIDIC and other industry specific forms, for construction, plant and design build and turnkey projects. Moreover, our extensive finance experience means that we are ideally placed to advise lenders and developers on project finance transactions in relation to construction projects.
We also have experience of major construction disputes, acting both for employers and contractors, including in relation to claims for delay damages, defects, variations, additional payment, prolongation and termination. Apart from acting in domestic and international construction arbitrations we also have experience of obtaining interim measures before the Maltese courts to secure claims brought in international construction arbitrations seated outside Malta.
Recent experience
Our construction experience includes:
• Representing a hospitality client as lead counsel in a dispute with a contractor arising from a FIDIC Red Book contract in arbitration proceedings and before the Maltese courts.
• Representing a foreign contractor as co-counsel in proceedings before the Maltese Courts for interim measures against a Maltese developer to secure an arbitration claim arising from a FIDIC Yellow Book contract.
• Representing a stock exchange listed development company as lead counsel in a dispute under a sale and works contract involving a luxury development.
• Representing an architectural firm in a dispute with a property developer alleging professional negligence in the provision of design and related services.
• Representing a property development company in a dispute with a professional services firm in connection with a dispute under a consultancy agreement involving services allegedly provided in connection with a lifestyle building development.
• Representing a fuel trading business in a dispute with an architectural firm under a professional services agreement in connection with design and quantity surveying services allegedly provided in relation to the construction of the client’s main offices.
• Negotiating FIDIC works contracts on behalf of developers / employers of high-rise building developments and residential developments.
• Negotiating bespoke and FIDIC works contracts in the hospitality sector for new constructions and refurbishment of hotel buildings.
• Negotiating contracts for professional services with architectural and design firms on behalf of owners and developers.
Key contacts: Dr. Anthea D’Anastas / Dr. Roderick Zammit Pace
Business Transactions
We have extensive experience advising on significant and cross-border transactions, frequently in collaboration with overseas law firms in multiple jurisdictions. Alongside our finance and construction work we advise clients on a variety of commercial matters and transactions relevant to our practice areas including joint ventures, agency, distribution and franchise agreements, management contracts, and all aspects of commercial, residential and mixed-use real estate transactions, including acquisitions, disposals, leasing and development.
In addition to our regulatory work in the corporate and financial sector, we also advise on regulation in other sectors relevant to our industries, including hospitality, energy, renewables and life sciences.
Recent experience
Our business transactions experience includes:
• Advising a Maltese hospitality group on a joint venture to develop a branded 5-star hotel in the UAE.
• Advising a Malta-based fund manager in connection with the investment by a consortium of development finance institutions in an investment fund.
• Advising a Malta-based fund manager in connection with the investment by a development finance institution, in an investment fund, including advising on the Maltese law aspects of the transaction documents.
• Advising a Luxembourg-based private equity fund on its investment in a Maltese SPV for the acquisition of various overseas target entities in the gaming industry, including advising on the Maltese law aspects of the transaction documents.
• Advising an international institutional investor on Maltese law issues related to its participation in a professional investor fund.
• Advising a private equity firm on its Maltese-based holding structure for its pan-European investments.
• Advising a private investment fund on its acquisition and financing of an equity stake in a company manufacturing and distributing consumer goods.
• Advising pharmaceutical companies on regulatory issues related to the distribution of medicines in Malta.
• Advising a Maltese financial services group on the formation of a joint venture fund management company with a US asset management group.
Key contacts: Dr. Amanda Vella / Dr. Roderick Zammit Pace
About Us
Zammit Pace Advocates is a leading Maltese law firm, with an international practice. We have a distinct focus on corporate and finance law, arbitration and dispute resolution, construction law and business transactions.
