Senior mergers and acquisitions (M&A) partner, Deepa Vallabh, is new to the firm, while Thomas Hechl from the firm’s Washington, DC office has moved to South Africa to lead the Africa projects practice.

Deepa joins Hogan Lovells from CMS, where she was Head of Africa: M&A and Co-Head of Corporate & Commercial. She has also led large successful M&A teams at Webber Wentzel and CDH, participating in the senior management structures of all three firms. Deepa advises on M&A and capital market transactions as well as corporate reorganisations and restructurings across a number of sectors including mining, consumer and TMT. She brings over two decades of experience advising clients on their cross-border, strategic transactions in Africa.

The practice will further benefit from the relocation of recently promoted partner, Thomas Hechl. His practice includes complex emerging markets project finance, direct lending, equity and restructuring transactions, many involving international development banks alongside other commercial lenders. 

“We’ve made a concerted effort in recent years to grow our corporate and finance practice in South Africa with highly experienced and talented lawyers,” noted James Doyle, Global Head of the Corporate & Finance practice. “Deepa possesses all of these attributes and more. She has a wealth of experience in assisting companies with their most significant transactions across Africa, and with access to our global platform, we’re confident she will continue to enhance our brand across the region. Furthermore, Thomas brings more than 25 years of experience with complex project finance transactions in emerging markets. Thomas will significantly enhance our client offering, particularly amongst leading development finance institutions, many of whom Thomas has serviced consistently over many years.”

Chris Green, Johannesburg managing partner, added: “It’s an exciting time for our South Africa practice as we continue to grow our  corporate and finance offerings to best serve our local, regional and global clients. We’re delighted to welcome lawyers of the calibre of Deepa and Thomas to our practice.”

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