Sidumisile Zikhali

Senior Associate

Sidumisile Zikhali is a Senior Associate in our Banking, Finance & Projects practice. She specialises and has experience in a broad range of financing transactions including project finance, structured trade and commodities finance, corporate finance, private equity fund finance, preference share funding, debt structuring, global loans, security structures and general finance, acting for both local and international borrowers and lenders.

Sidumisile Zikhali

About Sidumisile

Sidumisile began her career at Webber Wentzel as a Candidate Attorney in 2020. Following completion of her articles of clerkship, she was appointed as an Associate in 2022. She also spent time on secondment at Absa Group and to the Development Bank of Southern Africa. Sidumisile joined Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr in 2024 and was promoted to Senior Associate in April 2025. 

Areas of expertise

Experience

  • Advising FirstRand Bank Ltd (acting through its RMB division), Absa Bank Ltd and The Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd (acting through their Corporate and Investment Banking divisions) in the landmark structured ZAR 8,45 billion sustainability-linked loan for Mediclinic South Africa. This is the first syndicated sustainability-linked loan arranged by an African bank (RMB), and the largest sustainability-linked loan to date in Africa.

  • Advising General Atlantic on its USD 96 billion acquisition of Actis.

  • Advising Sanlam on its ZAR 35 billion joint venture with Allianz, to form a leading pan-African non-banking financial services company with a presence in 27 African countries.

  • Advising Acorn Agri & Food Ltd on the acquisition by Sun Valley Estates Pty Ltd of the entire issued share capital of Ascendis Animal Health Pty Ltd, Ascendis Vet Pty Ltd, Kyron Laboratories Pty Ltd and Kyron Prescriptions Pty Ltd (awarded Private Equity Deal of the Year at the DealMakers Annual Awards 2021).

  • Advising the Lenders in relation to the business rescue of Consolidated Power Projects (awarded The Business Rescue Transaction of the Year at the DealMakers Annual 2023).

     

Credentials

Education

  • BCom (Law, Investment and Corporate Finance, Insurance and Risk Management), University of the Witwatersrand
  • LLB, University of the Witwatersrand
  • Admitted as an Attorney and Notary Public of the High Court of South Africa in 2022

LANGUAGES

  • English

News

From vision to fruition.