Global Investment House (Global) announced today that it has received the “Best India Deal” Award from FinanceAsia for playing the role of Regional Lead Advisor for Bharti Airtel in acquiring Zain Africa (excluding Morocco and Sudan) in a deal worth $10.7billion.
Alan Smith, Board Member at Global received the award on behalf of Global at the ceremony organized by FinanceAsia on Feb 17, 2011 in Hong Kong and attended by prominent figures from the financial industry.
Commenting on the award, Smith said, “We are honored to receive this award which reinforces Global’s position as one of the leading investment banks in the region providing financial advisory services. This achievement supports our strategy that focuses on enhancing the company’s core activities: investment banking, asset management and brokerage.”

The Bharti Airtel’s $10.7billion acquisition of Zain Africa was recognized as the Best India Deal for several reasons including the record-time in which the deal was closed despite the deal’s complexity due to the multiple jurisdictions and an asset carve-out it went through.
It is worth mentioning that Bharti Airtel’s acquisition of Zain’s assets in Africa has been recognized by industry experts and media around the world. It was ranked as the largest M&A deal in the MENA region by Mergermarket and the eighth worldwide during the first six months of 2010.

Furthermore, Global is widely recognized as one of the leading international investment banks providing financial advisory services for mergers & acquisitions (M&A). In September 2010, the company was ranked fourth on the Thomson Reuters list of companies that played the role of financial advisor in M&A deals completed in the MENA region during the first half of 2010. It also earned the 17th position among the international investment banks that were advisors for M&A deals completed in the EMEA region and the 15th position for deals completed in Emerging Markets.