Fatima Zohra Essoufi

- Responsible for supporting the Middle East division by providing leadership on M&A, key partnerships, joint ventures and complex bids

- Developed and formalised an active M&A and JVs pipeline with a structured approach to source deals and engage with potential targets and partners

- Managed transactions end-to-end including due diligence process and advisors' coordination, negotiations, project structuring, obtaining necessary internal approvals formalising documentation and post-merger integration (PMI)

- Ensured appropriate documentation is in place at all stages of transactions

- Ensured transactions are appropriately structured and concluded on terms to obtain the best outcome for the division

- Supported with large/complex bids to ensure key risks and opportunities have been identified and mitigated, completeness and robustness of the proposal is achieved, while preserving competitiveness

- Led on the divisional and group required governance processes, including preparation of documentation and presentation at investment committees and Board meetings

A dual position including (a) launching the private equity practice of the Group while managing existing investments under Greenbull Investment club and (b) M&A for a couple of business divisions Private Equity

- Supporting the partners in developing the investment activity and establishing the necessary investment structures in Europe and UAE

- Leading deals execution, including financial modelling, due diligence, legal documentation, investment committees…etc with partners and external stakeholders

- Evaluating deal structuring scenarios and liaising with legal and tax teams / advisors to validate the contemplated structure

- Creating follow-up and reporting systems on ongoing investments and implementing the corresponding processes

- Supporting investor and stakeholder engagement and communication Mergers & Acquisitions

- Deal origination: industry research, identification and contact of relevant potential targets

- Transaction execution: overall project management and day-to-day execution of M&A transactions including implementing and controlling the overall process and timeline for transactions, developing financial / valuation models to assess opportunities, leading the due diligence process, preparing investment committee and board papers, negotiating legal documentation…etc

- Deal financing: identification and assessment of the financing options, in alignment with the contemplated deal structure

- Post-merger integration (PMI)

- Completed over 50 acquisitions for the group in 4 countries and managed M&A processes end-to-end from deal generation up to completion and post merger integration (PMI)

- Led the group market introduction to the UK and realised the first acquisition via a direct approach (bilateral deal), followed by 10ish bolt-on acquisitions

- Worked closely with the group Senior Management Team (SMT), the board of directors and shareholders in formulating the plan for growth

- Structured the M&A department, recruited and trained a team of 6 people (including 2 managers) in different geographies

- Developed a structure for a more formalized central M&A function to include all procedures and approval processes

- Implemented the M&A strategy across the different countries where the group operates

- Participated in childcare and investors events to develop the group reputation in the sector, promote active direct sourcing of targets and network with peers and owners of childcare businesses

- Established a relevant network of industry professionals and advisors

- Led on market surveys, trends and peer watch in countries where the group operates and potential candidates for a market introduction (European and non-European countries)

- Presented the acquisition proposals to the investment committees and boards of directors and shareholders, followed up on decisions and kept consistent files and reporting in place for follow-ups

- Worked closely with relevant members of the SMT during the due diligence process in order to leverage their experience and areas of expertise

- Worked closely with the group and countries CFOs with regards the financing and the structuring of acquisitions

- Managed the PMI work streams and supported the operating teams wherever appropriate and relevant, to make sure that information is flowing between stakeholders during the integration phase

- Reported to the Group Founder and CEO, member of the Group Exec. Committee