Ian Ounoi

Ian started his legal career as a Trainee Advocate at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr in January 2025 and was promoted to Associate in December 2025.

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Part of the team that advised Enko Education, a leading group of African International Schools, on its entry into the Kenyan education sector through an investment in a local private school.
• Part of the team that advised AXIAN Group, with respect to the acquisition by AXIAN Telecom Fibre Limited of 99.63% of the share capital of Wananchi Group Holdings Limited (Wananchi), at group level in Mauritius; and the indirect acquisition of subsidiaries in Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Tanzania, and Uganda alongside the indirect disposal of Wananchi's interest in iSat Africa in Kenya, the United Arab Emirates, and Zambia.
• Part of the team that advised Nedbank Group Limited in the disposal of its 21.2% shareholding in Eco Bank Transnational Incorporated to Bosquet Investments Limited for a purchase consideration of USD100 million.
• Part of the team that advised a Private Equity Fund in its acquisition of a fast-moving consumer goods company in East Africa.
• Part of the team that advised a private equity fund in its acquisition of a school in Kenya: the transaction involved advising and filing in competition matters and drafting of requisite transaction documents.
• Part of the team that advised a Venture Capital Fund on a secondary transaction involving the acquisition of shares from a founder shareholder of a UK company, resulting in the client obtaining a 4% stake; the transaction included the purchase of ordinary shares and their subsequent redesignation into Ordinary A shares upon completion.

General Corporate

• Assisted in the liquidation of a company by calculating terminal dues payable to employees in accordance with applicable laws, drafting redundancy letters, and facilitating the appointment of a liquidator to oversee the formal winding-up process.
• Assisted in the end-to-end registration of a branch of a Mauritian based Protected Cell Company in Kenya, including preparation of incorporation documents and board resolutions, submission of registration documents to the Registrar of Companies.
• Assisted in the deregistration of a branch belonging to a foreign based entity.
• Assisted in drafting an advisory to a company in the energy sector looking to register as a hire purchase business.