John W Ffooks & Co prides itself on the quality and the targeted nature of its advice. We are able to advise at any stage of an investment. We have experience of directly advising boards of listed companies on their overall strategy in Francophone Africa. Equally, we excel in the detailed application of that strategy, working together with local and regional management to ensure its successful implementation.
We are the only firm in Francophone Africa with such developed Napoleonic and English law expertise, making us better able to deal with Anglophone-orientated transactions. Our City of London experience allows us to anticipate the client's needs, making us a proactive partner in dealing with local counsel. We are members of the Lex Africa network.
No transaction is too large or too small for John W Ffooks & Co. In 2008 and 2009 we were the top firm in Madagascar by deal size. We have a team with experience of satisfying the most demanding counterparties, from stock exchanges, to international banks to private equity investors. We have acted on six listings or reverse takeovers. Within the last two years alone we have helped clients secure nearly US$3 billion in debt finance, while at the same time advising individual investors on structures and acquisitions. We have also advised on employment issues for a UK NGO and helped secure NGO status for a US not-for-profit (501(c)(3) corporation.
Our multi-jurisdictional experience and coverage enables us to provide advice on a number of fronts, whether multi-country legal framework reviews, assessing legal liability across a number of countries, as well as related regulatory issues.
We have also been asked on a number of occasions to lead teams of lawyer even in jurisdictions where we are not specifically active. The firm is currently acting on a large multijurisdictional M&A transaction involving due diligence and opinions in six countries. In addition to those six countries where our we do operate, we are assisting the client by managing the lawyers in two further jurisdictions. Clients have indicated that our regional experience, plus our lower cost, makes us a prime choice for this, as we are able to deal with all the legal issues arising for the Francophone African subsidiaries of multinational corporations.
We have the largest team in Antananarivo, with almost a dozen staff of varying levels all with transactional experience. English is the language of our business and all our junior and administrative staff (as well as John Ffooks) speak fluent English as well as French and are happy communicating by email, phone or face to face in English.